


Survive Until Dawn

by NervousAliceCurious



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), Until Dawn (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abandonment, Ambiguous Peril, Being Chased By Monsters, Betrayal, Big Hero Moments, Caribou, Character Death, Creepy Doll, Dangerous Deer, Dead Pigs, Dynamic Duos, Faulty Radio, Faulty Signal, Flare Guns, Flashbacks, Friends or Enemies?, Friendship, Gen, Ghost Girl - Freeform, Ghost from the past, Gorn, Hauntings, Hospital Showdown, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Jump Scares, No Joke On This!, Paranoia, Partying (w/No Alcohol), Reckless Firing of Flare Guns, Sadistic Choices, Sanitarium Of Doom, So Many Things Gone Wrong, Solo Gone Wrong, Suicide/Murder Gamble, The Decisions You Make Will Come Back To Haunt You, The Fire Tower, Totems Of Doom, Tower Collapse, Tunnel Climbing, Wolf Friends, Writer Party Disaster, Y'all Get A Freebie For Chapter 0, general panic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2019-10-22 23:43:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 47
Words: 32,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17672396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: After a tragic accident tears the ETN fandom apart, the party of eight that started it all becomes embroiled in a perversion of their own creation--a new and improved game that will end in a favorite character's revival...but only if they are able to outlast everyone else! Snowbound and unable to call for help, they'll have no choice but to play along if they wish to Survive Until Dawn.





	1. Hour 0: A Friend In Need

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Thought I'd try out a little experiment...see how it goes.

This party was the coolest and wildest one ever!

 

 

The people were really nice, the food was excellent, and, best of all, the venue…

 

 

 

I looked out the window, not really minding the freezing cold draft that slipped through the bottom of the frame.

 

 

 

‘Reminds me of home’.

 

 

 

It was gently snowing outside; a beautiful sight despite the tearing wind.

 

 

 

‘I wonder how Tegan found this place?’

 

 

 

 

Just then, I saw a flash of pink in the otherwise pristine landscape.

 

 

 

‘Huh?

 

Is that…?’

 

 

 

 Mystic…

 

 

 

 

 

‘Wasn’t supposed to happen like this, I _swear-!’_

 

 

 

I rushed into the living room and stopped _dead_.

 

 

 

The refreshments table was over-turned.

 

 

Food littered the floors and splattered each and every piece of furniture in the room.

 

 

 

The walls were splashed with punch—and so were Bird and Bronwyn.

 

 

 

 

Everyone else was surrounding them, some holding towels, some without.

 

 

 

 

‘-What happened in here?’

 

 

 

Bird grabbed my shoulders, a look of regret upon her face.

 

 

 

‘Alice, have you seen Mystic?’

 

 

 

‘Yeah, I’ve seen her…she’s outside.

 

 

I saw her run past the window…’

 

 

Chala put a hand to her forehead in agitation.

 

 

‘Great!

 

_Just_ great’.

 

 

 

Leah’s gaze worriedly flicked to the front door.

 

 

 

‘We have to go get her!

 

It’s not safe for her to be out there on her own’.

 

 

 

‘-Yeah, I kinda think she might not want to see our faces right now’, Chala cut in.

 

 

‘Especially _yours_ ’.

 

 

 

Bird put her face in her hands, and Bronwyn guiltily looked at the floor.

 

 

 

‘I’ll do it’, I said carefully ‘After all, I wasn’t…there, so…’

 

 

 

AquaEclipse's brow wrinkled in worry.

 

 

“Alice, she was really steamed.

 

You might get hit by a ton of angry words.

 

 

Just thought I'd let you know ahead of time...”

 

 

 

_Was it really **that** bad!?_

 

 

I didn’t really know, and I didn’t think it would be a good idea to ask.

 

 

So, without another word, I hurried off to get my jacket.

 

 

 

 

 

‘MYSTIC!’

 

 

I called out her name as I ran.

 

 

‘MYSTIC!!’

 

 

I sincerely hoped she hadn’t fallen, and hurt herself.

 

 

 

_Out in **this** weather…_

 

 

 

'Oh, shoot!'

 

 

 

I came to a fork in the road.

 

 

Clearly, it had used to be a double staircase.

 

 

 

‘Better play it safe…’

 

 

 

So thinking, I hurried down the mostly-intact right side.

 

 

 

My boots clomped down the wooden planks, and with each step, I feared that I would hit an icy patch.

 

 

 

‘If I fall and break my neck…!’

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was now jogging a little bit faster, a little more frantic.

 

 

 

‘How far out did she go!?’

 

 

 

Whatever had happened back there…

 

 

 

_No._

 

 

_It couldn’t have been mean-spirited._

 

 

 

Us Fandom Folk were pretty nice people, at least as far as I knew-

 

 

 

 

The sounds of rustling leaves made me lift five feet off the ground.

 

 

 

 

‘What the-!?’

 

 

 

For a moment, I just stood there, listening.

 

 

 

It didn’t happen again, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

 

 

 

‘But _now_ which way?’

 

 

 

The left had footprints.

 

 

The right was the source of the strange noise.

 

 

 

Actually, now that I thought about it, there was no contest.

 

 

 

Footprints with ballerina soles  _had_ to be Mystic’s.

 

 

 

 

Hurrying along the snowy road, I came to a sweet, little clearing…

 

 

 

Filled with caribou.

 

 

 

‘Oh…’

 

 

 

If I’d managed to spook them in any way, I was as good as dead.

 

 

 

The same rustling noise.

 

 

 

Tossing their heads in fear, the two animals moved off into the bushes.

 

 

 

It was almost as if they couldn’t get out of there fast enough…

 

 

 

‘If that’s true, then I’d better get moving soon, too!’

 

 

 

 

At the edge of the ring of graceful trees and snow-covered vegetation was a moderately-sized cliff.

 

 

I fought the urge to groan.

 

 

‘Why…?’

 

 

 

Could Mystic really be down there?

 

 

Maybe I’d taken a wrong turn…

 

 

 

Regardless, I gathered up my courage, sat down on the edge, and pushed myself off!

 

 

THUD!

 

 

I landed feet-first, and gasped at the pain.

 

 

‘I _had_ to do that…I just _had_ to…’

 

 

A bit disgusted with myself, I stumbled around for a little bit before reaching into my sweater pocket, and withdrawing an incredibly, old-fashioned cellphone.

 

 

Just one push of the central button was all it took to get a small pocket of light to emanate from the device.

 

 

With my new light source in hand, I began to search this new neck of the woods.

 

 

‘MYSTIC!?’

 

 

Still no answer…

 

 

 

‘This is super-bad’.

 

 

 

 

 

As I kept going, I began to feel…paranoid.

 

 

_There’s no telling what’s out here..._

 

 

 

Not at this time of the night.

 

 

 

Plus, it didn’t help that my worst fear involved being attacked in the dark.

 

 

 

SHOOM!!

 

 

 

‘AAAHH!!’

 

 

I screamed without thinking.

 

 

A third caribou had leapt out of the tree line to my left, and proceeded to dart into the tangled forest at my right.

 

 

 

'Okay, that was creepy…'

 

 

 

_Moving on…_

 

 

 

 

 

In the undergrowth a few leagues ahead, I saw something glimmering.

 

 

Crouching down to retrieve it, I discovered that it was…a totem?

 

 

When I looked into its little window, I was startled by the sounds of screaming…

 

 

Shivering, I stuck it into my pocket for safe-keeping.

 

 

 

_After all, the local authorities might want to know about it..._

 

 

 

 

 

What I thought was a bird chattered over my head, and I almost dropped my phone!

 

 

‘Why am I so skittish?’ I wondered.

 

 

‘Is it my intuition going off, or something?’

 

 

I hoped not.

 

 

‘MYYSSSTTIICCC!!-‘

 

 

As I stepped around the corner, a fwooooshh! of fire tore into the vegetation a goodfoot or so above me!

 

 

‘What’s that!?’

 

 

I, quite literally, froze.

 

 

After listening for a couple minutes, and hearing nothing more, I decided (albeit a bit reluctantly) that it was okay to go on…

 

 

 

 

Sobbing.

 

 

 

From a little ways up ahead…!!

 

 

 

Booking it the rest of the way down the path, I was rewarded with a depressing sight:

 

 

Mystic, her hair a ragged mess, make-up running in tracks down her cheeks, and her dress stained with violent-red.

 

 

 

‘Alice…?’

 

 

‘Hi…' I greeted her gently, 'I heard you’d run off, and I got worried-‘

 

 

‘You shouldnt’ve wasted your time!’

 

 

She sniffled.

 

 

‘I just wanted to be left alone, but _nooo_ …They _had_ to convince me to sing!’

 

 

‘I’m sure you have a lovely voice’, I said kindly.

 

 

 

She shot me the dirtiest look I’d ever recieved in my life.

 

 

 

‘That’s not the _point!!_ ’

 

 

 

She yanked off her lop-sided tiara, and threw it angrily into the snow!

 

 

 

‘Just when they'd talked me out of my persistent belief that I was a miserable screw-up..

 

 

Just when they'd _finally_ convinced me that I really  _was_  someone perfectly capable, with the _right_ even, to go out there and prove that I was talented with no worries about being judged-

 

 

I got stabbed in the back!!’

 

 

 

Her voice broke on the last syllable, and I had to restrain myself from giving her a much-needed hug.

 

 

 

‘My moment was ruined, and now…

 

 

Now how can I face them knowing that it was all a lie!?’

 

 

 

 

‘I don’t think it was’, I countered.

 

 

‘I think they feel just as bad about it as you do’.

 

 

 

‘But you weren’t there’.

 

 

 

The bitterness in her tone was almost scary.

 

 

 

‘How would _you_ know what happened-what they even thought?’

 

 

 

‘Because I went into the living room after you were gone, and I saw at least five people acting upset’.

 

 

 

‘In fact’, I continued ‘I heard them distinctly say that it would be a mistake for them to try and go after you, because they _knew_  just how much you would hate it if they did.

 

 

 

People who betray others wouldn’t act this way'.

 

 

 

 

For a moment, the only sounds in the woods were my shallow breaths, andher quiet, devastated sniffles.

 

 

 

‘…I’m cold’.

 

 

 

Smiling, I stripped off my jacket, and pulled it tightly around her shoulders.

 

 

‘Alice-!’

 

 

 

‘It’s okay’, I reassured her ‘I’ve got two sweaters on, I’ll be just fine’.

 

 

Then, I extended my hand.

 

 

‘Now, let’s go back to the others'.

 

 

 

 

Eyes filling with tears, she grasped my hand so hard that it hurt.

 

 

 

Her quick nod had me begin to believe that things would be okay.

 

 

I helped her up, and, together, we prepared to return to the lodge-

 

 

 

 

‘Oh my God, what is _that!?_ ’

 

 

 

 

Mystic’s terrified voice had succinctly echoed my thoughts.

 

 

 

Turning on our heels we sprinted into the unknown.

 

 

 

_Can’t let it catch us, can’t let it catch us-!!_

 

 

 

We thudded over a short rise, and dropped onto a wooden bridge.

 

 

Mystic yelped as her feet slid out from under her!

 

 

 

She hit the boards hard enough to rip bloody gashes into her knees.

 

 

 

“Alice!!”

 

 

 

I looked over my shoulder, saw that she was down, and rushed back to help her up!

 

 

‘Thank you…’

 

 

‘No problem!’

 

 

 

Running faster and faster, we could hear it coming after us in the distance-

 

 

 

THUD

 

 

My phone was jarred out of my hand, and I felt my heart sink as it disappeared between a crack in the pylons.

 

 

 

 

‘No, no-‘, Mystic whimpered.

 

 

 

We’d come to a dead end.

 

 

 

Below the tiny plateau we’d somehow managed to corner ourselves on was a sheer drop of 250 feet!

 

 

 

_If we fall off of this, we’ll both be very, very **dead** -_

 

 

 

Mystic screamed and clutched my arm.

 

 

 

I began to hurriedly move backwards thinking that it was going to attack us-

 

 

 

'NO-'

 

 

Mystic's treacherous shoes had struck again!

 

 

She fell over backwards as they clicked and slid on the frozen ground, and I was abruptly dragged off with her!

 

 

 

‘Whoah-!’

 

 

‘NONONONO-!!’

 

 

Adrenaline surging through my veins, I was _just_ able to grasp a miniscule chunk of ledge.

 

 

 

Below me, Mystic clung tightly to my hand!

 

 

‘Alice!!!

 

 

What do we do!?’

 

 

 

‘Uh-‘

 

 

 

Panic was overriding all logical thought.

 

 

I couldn’t seem to reconcile my reality with this nightmare going on beneath me.

 

 

 

The frightened girl was dangling in mid-air, the only thing holding her up being her death-grip.

 

 

 

And I wasn’t sure I could keep both of us hanging-

 

 

 

‘NO!!

 

STAY BACK!!!’

 

 

 

Mystic’s hysterical shrieks forcefully brought me back to the present.

 

 

 

'Huh!?'

 

 

I followed her frenzied gaze, and my heart thumped into my throat and stayed there.

 

 

 

A man…I think…

 

 

 

He was leaning over us in full combat gear, a bloody knife clutched in one hand.

 

 

With the other…

 

 

 

I had no choice.

 

 

 

I couldn’t be responsible for another’s death!

 

 

 

I _couldn’t._

 

 

 

So...

 

 

 

I let go of the ledge.

 

 

 

 

‘NO ALICE WHY-!?”

 

 

 

Her hand slipped from mine, as mine slipped from hers.

 

 

 

 

Together, we plummeted into the abyss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could hear Mystic’s ragged cries as the world rushed past us at what seemed like a thousand miles an hour.

 

 

I was screaming too.

 

 

 

The fear was liquid nitrogen in my bones, my chest, my stomach.

 

 

 

The dread of the ground rushing up to meet us made me want to throw-up-!!

 

 

 

 

SMACK!!

 

 

 

A cloud of blood erupted from her mouth as her spine snapped against a sharp boulder.

 

 

 

They rolled down the connecting incline, limbs battered and broken by the rough terrain until the two women glided to a halt one right next to the other.

 

 

 

 

THIS JUST IN:

 

 

Local girl dies in a hiking accident on Blackwood Mountain.

 

 

According to her surviving companion, she’d come out to rescue her from the elements in light of a terrible incident…


	2. One Year Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to go back...

Tegan didn’t want to organize this.

 

 

A year had gone by, but the wound was still fresh.

 

 

 

_I just can’t believe she’s gone._

 

 

 

That was the general consensus of most of the writers…

 

 

 

And then there was Mystic.

 

 

 

She winced at the memory of the last time they’d seen her.

 

 

 

It was at the hospital, when she'd lambasted the H* out of them:

 

 

 

_I can’t believe you guys!!_

 

_How on earth were you unable to find us for **three** whole days!?_

 

 

 

_Now Alice is **dead** , and it’s all your fault-_

 

 

 

Shaking her head to clear it, she went back to her invites list.

 

 

 

_Whether or not I want to do this doesn’t matter._

 

 

 

We have to face what we’ve done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Chapter 1 territory!


	3. Tegan's Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gathering begins.

The bus to Blackwood Mountain was slow and torturous.

 

 

It left Leah too much time to relax…too much time to think.

 

 

 

Clutched tightly in her hands was the invitation Tegan (a.k.a Willowcat88) had sent her.

 

 

She’d already read it several dozen times in order to make it seem like the ride was going faster.

 

 

 

But it never worked.

 

 

 

_Hey Leah,_

 

 

_It’s me, Tegan._

 

 

 

_I know you probably won’t want to hear this, but it’s been an entire year since Alice passed away, and…_

 

 

_Well…_

 

 

 

 

_I think it’s about time that we all went back there._

 

 

 

_I’ve already sent out the other invites, so hopefully, we’ll get a good turnout._

 

 

 

_But you never know._

 

 

 

_It’s just…_

 

 

_A year is a super-long time to dwell on something, and…_

 

 

 

_And it’s high time we find a way to get past all of this._

 

 

 

 

 

_It’ll be just like last time._

 

 

 

_I’ll greet people at the door, Adopppp will bring food, and Aqua will take care of the music._

 

 

 

 

_Cinder also promised to sneak us some soft drinks from home._

 

 

 

 

_We’ll do this, we’ll have a good time, and we’ll be able to heal the gigantic rift that has somehow opened between all of us._

 

 

 

_I can feel it._

 

 

 

_See you on Thursday? <3_

 

 

 

_-Willowcat88_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is about when Leah's genre senses started tingling.
> 
>  
> 
> *Hour 1 officially starts next chapter, so get hyped!!*


	4. Hour 1: The Gang's All Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet almost everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, two things: 
> 
> One, if I mess up somebody's pronouns please, PLEASE tell me!! 
> 
>  
> 
> Two, this one was supposed to come out yesterday. It didn't happen because my mom and I ended up stuck in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam for a good three hours.
> 
>  
> 
> So, yeah, that's why everything is late.
> 
>  
> 
> Please enjoy! <3

It finally screeched to a stop outside of the main gates.

 

 

Mentally fortifying herself for what was sure to be the most excruciating weekend of her life, Leah got up from her funky-smelling seat, crossed the long aisle to the stairs, and stepped out into the cold and uninviting daylight.

 

 

 

The gate was unlocked, thankfully.

 

 

_If I’d needed a key to get in, I would’ve been out of luck…_

 

 

As much as she’d wanted to miss this, her moral scruples wouldn’t let her.

 

 

 

When she swung it shut behind her, her ears picked up on a faint rustling far above her.

 

 

‘Hello?’ She called out.

 

 

‘Is anyone there?’

 

 

 

SIlence.

 

 

 

‘Anyone at all!?’

 

 

 

More silence.

 

 

‘…Hm’.

 

 

 

Maybe she was just being paranoid.

 

 

 

 

If indeed that was the case, then the sudden cawing of a bird did nothing to help matters.

 

 

 

_My, am I jumpy today._

 

 

 

 

The second gate she came to actually _was_ locked.

 

At her approach, the little bird that had been resting on the top cornice flew away.

 

 

_At least **you** can get over…_

 

 

Sighing, she leaned in to read a note that someone had somehow managed to impale on the stiff, iron bars:

 

 

 

_To whomever comes by here:_

 

_Fought with this thing for a good ten minutes before giving up._

 

 

_I think it’s rusted, and the only way over appears to be just taking a stab at climbing over the wall next to it._

 

 

_Anyway, if I’m not dead by the time you get here, then you’ll know that I'll be seeing you soon at the cable car station._

 

 

 

_Till' then,_

 

 

_Chala_

 

 

 

Leah pushed on the reluctant iron with both hands.

 

 

CLANK, CLANK!!

 

 

_Yeah, it’s stuck, alright…_

 

 

 

Having no choice but to do as Chala had suggested, she dug her fingernails into the crumbling rock of the nearby wall, and took it nice and slow.

 

 

 

_Wouldn’t want to miss a handhold or something, and lose my balance..._

 

 

 

She didn’t think her friends would be too happy if she somehow got her neck broken before she’d even made it to the snow.

 

 

 

 

Grunting with the effort of pulling herself up every few inches, she was left with a second no-brainer decision:

 

 

Climb up to the top, or jump.

 

 

 

_Like I would be able to pull **that** off!_ She thought deridingly.

 

 

 

Better stick with climbing.

 

 

 

So, lo, and behold, she didn’t fall off!

 

 

 

 

Sitting on the edge of its craggy top, she pushed herself over with a silent prayer, and landed _square_ on her feet.

 

 

Cursing.

 

 

’Why, why did I think that was a good idea…?’

 

 

Her poor toes were screaming at her in pain!

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, important parties waited for no one even if they did have foot issues.

 

 

‘Oh well…time to get going, I suppose’.

 

 

She limped across a wide, pristine clearing, and was pleasantly surprised to see a red squirrel skitter across her path.

 

 

‘Hey cutie’, she said softly ‘I’ve got something for you’.

 

 

She gently knelt down while quietly retrieving a handful of acorns from the back pocket of her coat.

 

 

 

(Last time, she’d ended up borrowing a few from Tegan after she’d showed Birdy how easy it was to make friends with them around here).

 

 

 

‘Come on…that’s it…’

 

 

 

She was trying to remain as still as possible, but when one of her toes screamed again, she winced and ended up shifting around a bit.

 

 

 

The squirrel, chattering nervously, backed-off.

 

 

 

_Shoot._

 

 

 

‘Hey, hey…!

 

It’s alright…come back please…I won’t hurt you…’

 

 

 

For Take Two, she made sure to stay as still as possible.

 

 

 

Thus, the squirrel gradually recovered the nerve to hop within an inch or so of her outstretched hand.

 

 

 

Barely daring to breathe, she smiled as he looked this way, then that…and then gave up all pretense of caution to gratefully snatch a crushed acorn from her palm.

 

 

 

As he raced off into the bushes once more, she stood up feeling ridiculously proud of herself.

 

 

 

_...Just call me the Ultimate Animal Charmer!_

 

 

 

 

CAW! CAW!! CAW!!!

 

 

A trio of birds were again disturbed by her presence.

 

 

She frowned.

 

 

_I guess I’m not that popular with **all** of the animals here…_

 

 

After continuing on her way, that seemed to be happening more and more-

 

 

 

 

She almost missed the intriguing plaque.

 

 

 

 

_Hm._

 

 

_Black butterflies foretell the witness’ death…Alice had a black totem on her when she was finally found._

 

 

_If I didn’t know any better…_

 

 

 

From there, it went on to say that red butterflies were indicative of danger, brown butterflies told of a loss that would greatly aggrieve a friend, yellow butterflies would offer guidance, and white butterflies could reveal good fortune.

 

 

 

 

_I’ve gotta take a picture of this!_

 

 

 

She slipped her phone out of her bag, and did just that.

 

 

 

_Nice!_

 

_This came out perfect._

 

 

…

 

 

_Wait..._

 

 

_What’s **that?**_

 

 

 

A small, wooden object was tucked in front of her photo-op:

 

 

_A yellow totem!?_

 

 

 

Picking it up, she was suddenly sucked into a black space where the fluttering of wings, and a distinct rustling could be heard.

 

 

It was over as soon as it had started, leaving her with more questions than answers.

 

 

 

 

More birds flew away as she went up the steps to the cable car station!

 

 

_No!_

 

 

_Why?_

 

 

_Come back, birds!!_

 

 

_Let me be friends with you like I already am with the squirrels!_

 

 

 

All kidding aside, it really _was_ kind of disturbing…

 

 

 

 

At the far end of the waiting area was a massive sign; obviously it had once contained a map of the entire mountain.

 

 

Now, it only held one chilling phrase:

 

 

**The Past Is Beyond Our Control**

 

 

 

‘Yeesh!’, she winced ‘And in red paint, too…’

 

 

 

Just another unfortunate reminder of why all of this was happening in the first place.

 

 

 

 

‘Chala?

 

You around?’

 

 

 

When she didn’t get an answer, she wandered over to the random bag that was, for some reason, sitting by itself on a bench.

 

 

 

Its innermost pouch was unzipped revealing an iPhone.

 

 

 

_Hm. Latest model._

 

 

 

RRRRrrrrrrr….

 

 

 

_Oh, geez…_

 

 

 

Putting a hand to her heart at the sudden scare, she couldn’t help but notice who was calling:

 

 

PENELOPE DOWRY

 

 

 

_Never heard of her…_

 

 

 

She _could_ zip it up so it wouldn’t keep making that irritating noise...or she could snoop.

 

 

 

Not a hard decision, really…

 

 

 

Snooping around would obviously get her in huge trouble!

 

 

 

_Not worth that kind of risk…and why on earth would I even do that to my friends anyway!?_

 

 

 

Her thick, woolen mittens made it a bit hard to grasp the zipper, but she did it nonetheless.

 

 

 

_Zlp!_

 

 

 

_There_ , she thought with a sense of satisfaction, _Now **nobody** will be able to spy on you._

 

 

 

 

‘Chala-!!’

 

 

 

‘Heyyy~!’

 

 

At the sound of the chipperest writer known to man (second only to Bird_of_Scarlet), Leah felt a wide smile bloom on her face.

 

 

 

‘Adopppp!’

 

 

 

Turning, she was not surprised in the least to see that he was carrying five gigantic packs of snacks.

 

 

 

‘I get the feeling that we aren’t going to be starving anytime soon’.

 

 

 

‘Yeah!’

 

 

 

He nodded at the random backpack.

 

 

 

‘Who’s is that?’

 

 

 

‘Chala’s’.

 

 

 

She looked over her shoulder just in case she’d re-appeared.

 

 

 

‘Although, she doesn’t seem to be here at the moment…’

 

 

‘Maybe she had to go to the bathroom, or something’.

 

 

‘Maybe…’

 

 

‘Say!’

 

 

He clapped his hands together in excitement, chip bags crinkling as they were suddenly swung together.

 

 

 

‘While we wait, why don’t we go look at this really awesome thing I just found!?’

 

 

 

Leah briefly peeked at her watch, and then shrugged.

 

 

‘Sure, why not?

 

I’ve got time…’

 

 

 

…But just in case, they checked the front door to make sure that it really was locked and not ‘barred from the inside by a Bigfoot’.

 

 

She pulled on the handle a couple times.

 

 

_Rattle, rattle…_

 

 

‘Guess we’re gonna need a key…’

 

 

Adopppp deflated a little.

 

 

‘Bummer…’

 

 

 

With their plan to go find the 'really awesome thing’ back on track, they re-trekked behind the right side of the derelict building.

 

 

‘Oh my gosh’.

 

 

Leah was surprised, and a bit disturbed.

 

 

‘They have a shooting range up here!?’

 

 

‘I guess so…’

 

 

Adopppp picked up the lone rifle perched precariously on the booth’s edge and began to examine it with the zest of a person whose enthusiasm/love for life knows no bounds.

 

 

‘It’s like, really old and stuff, but I bet it’s still got a lot of clout left inside’.

 

 

‘You gonna use it?’

 

 

‘Nah!’

 

 

 

He shook his head, a brief spark of terror in his eyes.

 

 

 

‘I’d probably blow my head off!’

 

 

 

He then proceeded to accidentally hit the trigger.

 

 

 

BANG!

 

 

 

‘Whaa-!?’

 

 

 

Leah covered her ears at the harsh sound.

 

 

‘What was that!?’

 

 

‘Uh…I think that was me…accidentally doing things…’

 

 

_Wonder what I hit?_

 

 

Squinting to see the strung-up targets in the dark, he was _just_ able to make out a wounded sandbag.

 

 

 

‘Aw, man!

 

I killed it!!’

 

 

‘Killed what?’

 

 

‘That sandbag, over there!’

 

 

He then proceeded to accidentally set it off _again_.

 

 

BAANNGG!!

 

 

‘Will you _stop_ that, gun!?’

 

 

 

This time, a can was the unlucky casualty.

 

 

 

‘I didn’t know you could shoot!’

 

 

‘Neither did I, until right now…’

 

 

 

_Better put this thing down!_

 

 

 

Leah watched in amusement as he slowly lowered it into the snow.

 

 

‘I honestly kind-of thought that you were going to set it off a third time’.

 

 

‘Nope!’

 

 

 

Adopppp grinned.

 

 

 

‘Not in this lifetime, _ever again!!’_

 

 

 

BANG!!!

 

 

 

‘Are you _kiddin’_ me!?’

 

 

 

His friend started chuckling as he burrowed randomly through the snow bank.

 

 

 

‘Where’d it go!?’

 

 

 

 

While he was busy with that, a second bushy-tailed squirrel appeared.

 

 

Spying a cluster of delicious nuts on a tree stump, it scurried up on top without a second thought!

 

 

 

Seeing it gave Leah an idea.

 

 

 

‘Hey, when you’re done looking for that misplaced bullet, how about I show you a really awesome thing?’

 

 

 

 

When the sounds of an engine whirring filled their ears, that was when they knew that their white chariot had finally arrived.

 

 

 

‘Too bad we don’t have the key to get in’, Leah remarked.

 

 

 

‘Forget the key, look at this!!’

 

 

 

He pointed to a WANTED poster on the side of a corrugated wall.

 

 

 

‘Can’t read it, but man, if we met this guy-!’

 

 

 

‘We’d be in huge trouble, wouldn’t we?’

 

 

 

 

At the big, unlockable door, they were suddenly (and unceremoniously) scared by footsteps.

 

 

 

‘Hey guys.

 

Trying to get in without me?’

 

 

 

 

‘Chala!’ Leah exclaimed happily.

 

 

‘Heeeyy, it’s you!!’

 

 

 

‘Hi Adopppp, Leah’.

 

 

 

 

A pair of silver keys swung from a chain in her hand.

 

 

 

‘How’d you get those?’

 

 

‘Tegan gave them to me…we were two of the first people here’.

 

 

 

‘Where’s Tegan now?’ Leah asked.

 

 

‘Up ahead somewhere’, Chala replied ‘As soon as we get this thing ridden we should literally be right up in her face’.

 

 

 

 

‘Aw, man!’

 

 

 

Leah stood at the railing of the observation deck.

 

 

 

‘It sounded so much closer than it actually was…’

 

 

 

‘The curse of traveling echoes’, Chala quipped.

 

 

Wandering into an adjoining room, Adopppp found a random flyer tacked up.

 

 

‘Blackwood Pine Sanatorium?

 

 

What’s that!?’

 

 

 

‘Beats me!’ the key keeper shrugged.

 

 

 

‘Maybe it’s like…you know…a place where crazy people used to get put’.

 

 

 

‘On _this_ mountain?’

 

 

 

Leah’s answer obviously did _not_ sit well.

 

 

 

‘Eugh, I wonder if Tegan knows about this’.

 

 

 

 

The next interesting thing he found was a monitor perched precariously on a desk.

 

 

_Hey…that looks like the lodge on there!_

 

 

Sure enough, different stills of their soon-to-be party venue flickered in, and then out.

 

 

_Is somebody tryin’ to film us, or somethin’!?_

 

 

 

He whipped his phone out of his pocket, and took a few pictures, just in case.

 

 

 

 

RRRRRR-

 

 

 

‘Hey Adopppp!’ Leah shouted from outside ‘It’s here!’

 

 

 

‘Okay!’

 

 

 

He took one last, lingering glance at the odd footage before he left.

 

 

 

‘Wait for me!!’

 

 

 

 

In the car itself, a new topic emerged:

 

 

That of the coming gathering.

 

 

 

 

‘Do you think this is really the right thing to do?’ Leah asked worriedly.

 

 

‘I guess so’.

 

 

Chala seemed unusually focused on a loose thread of her sweater.

 

 

‘Can’t keep dancing around it at any rate…’

 

 

‘I just…I keep having this weird feeling that this is a colossally bad idea!’

 

 

 

‘Not me!’ Adopppp said ‘I’m actually super-psyched to see everyone again!!’

 

 

 

‘You’re always psyched’, Chala finished pulling the errant strand loose.

 

 

‘That’s why I got invited!

 

_D’uh!!’_

 

 

 

Even Leah cracked a smile at that.

 

 

 

‘Well, in any case it’s too late to go back now…’

 

 

 

‘Yeah’, Chala agreed.

 

 

 

 

When a suspicious creaking reached her ears, Tegan knew:

 

 

_The cable car’s back!_

 

 

_New guests have arrived!!_

 

 

 

Hopping up from her perch on the obligatory waiting bench she hurried up to the landing dock-

 

 

 

BANG, BANG!!

 

 

 

‘Holy, Mother of-!!’

 

 

 

Not one, not two, but _three_ shadowy faces stared back at her through the frosted windows, hands pressed flush against the glass.

 

 

 

‘Hey!!

 

We’re stuck!!!’ Adopppp called out.

 

 

 

‘Yeah!’ Leah seconded ‘For some reason the door won’t open!!’

 

 

 

‘Don’t worry guys…!’ Tegan said shakily, heart still pattering wildly from the scare ‘I’ve got it’.

 

 

 

Pressing the green button on a pad nearby caused the duo to almost fall out of the car!

 

 

 

‘Whoa!!’

 

 

’Thank goodness! I thought I was going to become a popsicle in there!’

 

 

 

 

Chala leisurely sauntered out after them.

 

 

 

 

‘Hey, what’s that?’

 

 

 

In Tegan’s other hand was a smooth, creme letter.

 

 

 

‘It’s a birthday card for CinderScoria’, she explained.

 

 

‘I never really got to give it to them this year, for…obvious reasons…’

 

 

 

She cringed a little at her own words.

 

 

’So…I’m going to do it now!’

 

 

 

‘Cool’.

 

 

 

 

‘We’re gonna go on ahead’, Leah said ‘You want to come with us?’

 

 

 

’Naw, I’m good’.

 

 

Tegan waved as they began to walk away.

 

 

‘I’ve got to give this to Cinder, first!’

 

 

 

 

‘Well, you have a good time!’ Chala called behind them as they swiftly disappeared around a bend in the road.

 

 

 

‘Wooooow!! Look at that view-!’

 

 

 

‘Adopppp!

 

Be careful-!!’

 

 

 

Tegan smiled to herself.

 

 

 

_...It’s all going according to plan._

 

 

 

_Yes!!_

 

 

 

 

AquaEclipse groaned.

 

 

‘ _Really?_

 

 

We’re not even _close_ to there yet!?’

 

 

 

She’d just stepped through a wrought-iron gate that their map had conveniently forgotten.

 

 

 

‘It does kinda seem that way, doesn’t it?’

 

 

 

Bronwyn lugged her own suitcase through the narrow gap, a wry grin on her face.

 

 

 

‘This is _so_ stupid!’ she whined.

 

 

‘If I’d known that I was going to be climbing Mount Everest, I would have brought my crampons, a hiking stick, and an elevator!!’

 

 

‘Good luck getting it up the mountain…’

 

 

 

As they embarked upon this newest icy path, she popped the question that was both on their minds:

 

 

‘How do you feel about seeing everybody again?’

 

 

‘You mean all the usual suspects?’

 

 

‘Yeah’.

 

 

 

Aqua was silent for a moment.

 

 

 

‘I think as long as we don’t see Mystic, we’ll be fine’.

 

 

 

‘What, you expect her to start drama or something?’

 

 

_‘Yeah!’_

 

 

 

Her voice rose in volume as outrage flamed in her blood.

 

 

 

‘After all, you know what went down the last time we saw her!’

 

 

 

Bronwyn nodded uncomfortably.

 

 

 

_As if we could ever forget._

 

 

 

They lapsed into silence again as they slipped under the roof of an old, covered bridge.

 

 

 

_Those words still echo in my brain, every waking moment-_

 

 

 

THUD!!

 

 

 

‘Ahhh-!!’

 

 

‘Wh-!?’

 

 

 

The two women stumbled back in shock.

 

 

 

‘Hey, y’all…’ Birdy said awkwardly, sitting on her butt in the snow.

 

 

‘What’s up?’

 

 

 

‘BIRDY!!’

 

 

 

AquaEclipse scooped some snow up off of the ground, and threw it at her!

 

 

 

‘Eek-!’

 

 

 

‘WHAT THE H* WAS THAT FOR!!??’

 

 

 

The writer hurried to guard her face with her hands before it could be pelted with cold!

 

 

 

‘I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry-!!’

 

 

 

She squeaked in fear as the hard ball of liquid bounced off the side of her arm.

 

 

 

‘Hey, now’, Bronwyn cut in, ‘there’s no need for that!

 

 

It’s not like she meant any harm by it, or anything…’

 

 

 

‘Yeah, yeah, whatever!’

 

 

Aqua pinned Birdy with a glare that was already fading in strength.

 

 

‘Just don’t ever do that again, okay?’

 

 

 

‘I won’t…’

 

 

 

‘Good’.

 

 

 

Then, all of a sudden, she went rigid.

 

 

 

‘Oh crud! Oh no…’

 

 

’Something wrong?’ Bronwyn asked.

 

 

‘No…I don’t know why you’d think that at all’.

 

 

She shifted nervously.

 

 

‘I just…have to go see if anybody else made it, that’s all’.

 

 

 

_Uh-huh._

 

**_Sure…_ **

 

 

‘Okay, then.

 

If you say so’.

 

 

She pointed up the trail a ways.

 

 

‘We’re just gonna continue on ahead, if you don’t mind’.

 

 

Aqua was only _too_ happy about that.

 

 

‘Yeah, you guys go!’

 

 

She started to speed-walk back the way they’d come.

 

 

 

‘I’ll catch up with you later, I promise!!’

 

 

 

‘What was that all about?’

 

 

Bronwyn shook her head.

 

 

 

'I have no idea’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up at the very edge of the Blackstone Lodge, Birdy zoomed all over the place with the mounted-binocular lens, taking in gorgeous trees, breathtaking views, and-

 

 

‘!!??’

 

 

A gnarled head popped up out of nowhere, making her scream something along the lines of:

 

 

_‘Ohmahgawditsagiantthing!!!!!’_

 

 

 

She briefly caught a flash of orange before springing away in a panic!

 

 

‘Ahhhh….’

 

 

After a couple of minutes of sweating (and swearing) under her breath, she didn’t learn anything from the incident and went back to what she was doing before.

 

 

 

 

This time, she found something else.

 

 

 

‘Is that…Aqua?’

 

 

 

The girl kept darting from one tree to another, as if unsure of which spot to pick.

 

 

 

‘Why’s she doing that-?’

 

 

 

Finally, though, she just raced off into a clump of bushes.

 

 

 

...

 

 

…

 

 

…

 

 

 

**Wait-**

 

 

 

 

‘See anything interesting?’

 

 

 

 

Bronwyn’s head abruptly obstructed her view.

 

 

 

‘AJHGDFKSK~!!’

 

 

 

She snorted, and started laughing.

 

 

‘Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist!’

 

 

‘H-‘

 

 

She couldn’t catch her breath, her heart was yelling so loud!!!!

 

 

 

‘HOW DARE YOU STARE AT ME LIKE THAT WITH THOSE POSSESSED EYES!!???’

 

 

 

’Haha…Birdy…calm down!

 

Geez…’

 

 

 

She huffed indignantly.

 

 

‘One of these days, I’m gonna get you back good!!’

 

 

 

Bronwyn tried to stop her snickering, and couldn’t.

 

 

 

‘I await it with great pleasure!

 

 

 

'So.

 

Did you find anything interesting?’

 

 

 

‘Uh…’

 

 

 

Just like that, she was in ‘Oh Crap’ mode.

 

 

 

_I don’t think Aqua would forgive me if I showed B. what she was **really** doing._

 

 

‘Nope!

 

Not at all!!’

 

 

A lopsidedly suspect grin spread across her face, and she desperately wanted to kick herself!

 

 

_Stop **smiling** , stupid!!_

 

 

‘Are you sure?’

 

 

 

Ohhh, yeah…she was onto her.

 

 

 

‘Yup! Mm-hm’.

 

 

‘Are you _reeaallly_ sure…?’

 

 

‘YES!!’

 

 

It ended up coming out like a yelp, sorta.

 

 

‘I’m sure…’

 

 

Bronwyn opened her mouth to say something undoubtedly tease-worthy, but Bird beat her to it.

 

 

 

‘It, like, already gave me a giant headache just from using it for two minutes!

 

 

Totally not worth it!!’

 

 

Her partner-in-crime raised an eyebrow.

 

 

‘You’re feeding me crap, I _know_ it…’

 

 

She prepared to crawl into a hole and wait until the Snowball queen disappeared.

 

 

‘…But I’m going to believe you for now since you’re my lovely best friend, and I trust you’.

 

 

 

_Hoooo…my knees are **weak**!_

 

 

 

 

Back at the cable car station, Tegan rubbed her mitten-clad hands together for warmth.

 

 

_Where are they!?_

 

 

_It’s not like Jas to be this late…_

 

 

For the six-billionth time that night, she went to go check her phone-

 

 

THUNK!!

 

 

‘Wahh!?’

 

 

A fair-sized chunk of snow had just barely missed her torso, instead thudding into the wall!

 

 

 

‘You did _not_ just-!!’

 

 

A figure came into view, bouncing another round of ammunition in their open palm.

 

 

‘Hey, there!

 

You _did_ wait up for me’.

 

 

‘What did you _expect_ me to do?

 

Leave without you!?’

 

 

’Nah, you’re not the type’.

 

 

 

They pulled their arm back, and prepared for lift-off!

 

 

 

**_Nope!_ **

 

_Not today, Cinder!!_

 

 

Diving for a nearby bench, their next projectile _just_ grazed her lower-back!

 

 

‘Hah!

Missed me!!’

 

 

 

‘Yeah’ well, don’t get _too_ cocky!

 

I’m nowhere near finished’.

 

 

 

_Mm-hm…_

 

 

Tegan crouched low and scooped up her own snowball.

 

 

_Just keep talking…_

 

 

 

‘Can’t hide behind that thing forever~!’

 

 

 

SWOOSH!!

 

 

SPLAT!

 

 

 

‘Ah-!’

 

 

They looked down at the powdery impact mark now front, and center on their chest.

 

 

‘Them’s fightin’ dirty!!’

 

 

 

 

‘No more than you!’, Tegan retorted.

 

 

 

Seeing her best friend wind up for a third time, she sprinted away from her shelter, banking on her own speed-

 

 

 

_Just_ missed again!!

 

 

 

’D*t!

 

 

_Almost_ had you!!’

 

 

 

Now situated behind a birch tree-stump, it was time to hit the target once more.

 

 

 

 

‘You can run, but you can’t hide!’

 

 

 

SPLAT!!

 

 

 

‘Nooo…again!?’

 

 

 

 

Half-crying with laughter, she changed positions for a third, and last time.

 

 

 

‘Where are you, Jas…?’

 

 

 

 

Wisely, they kept silent.

 

 

 

Creating a snowball from the ample remains of a dying snow fort, she waited until an innocent little bird had fluttered out of the way before she yeeted it as far and as high as she could!

 

 

 

A distant cry of ‘Are you kidding me!?’ told her that she’d done quite well.

 

 

 

 

‘It’s your own d* fault for underestimating me!’

 

 

 

Rushing out from behind the solid wall of snow, she moved in for the kill-

 

 

 

 

_Where’d they go!?_

 

 

 

‘HA!!

 

Gotcha-!’

 

 

 

Cinder was _going_ to hit her with another snowball, only to slip on the slick ground, and fall-

 

 

_Right_ on top of Tegan!!

 

 

'Ooof-!?'

 

‘Owowow, my foot is stuck under your leg, my foot is stuck under your leg-!!’

 

 

 

She took this sudden, too-good-to-be-missed opportunity, and hit them one final time with a snowball.

 

 

 

SPLUTCH!

 

 

 

‘You little-!?’

 

 

Tegan quickly untangled herself from their pile-up, and safely scooted out of reach.

 

 

 

‘I think this is the part where I see you later-!’

 

 

‘Yeah, you’d _better_ run!!’

 

 

 

 

And so they ran up the mountain like crazy people.

 

 

 

 

Elsewhere, another cable car pulled in.

 

 

 

Its only occupant rubbed the tears out of her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we can get into the really fun stuff...!


	5. Misgivings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a year since they've seen Mystic, and a year since she's seen them.

Mystic didn’t want to get out.

 

She didn’t know if she could face them…

 

 

 

_No._

 

_I **have** to face them!_

 

 

 

That’s what **she** would say…

 

 

 

Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, she got ready to take that first step.

 

 

 

Always the most important one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hour 2, coming up soon...


	6. Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Operation: Break into my own house has commenced.

‘Well, well, well!

 

Look who it is’.

 

 

Chala smiled at their Party’s resident Partners-In-Arms: Bronwyn and Birdy.

 

 

 

‘I see you guys made it up here okay'.

 

 

 

‘Same here’.

 

 

 

The former nodded to Leah and Adopppp trailing along behind her.

 

 

 

‘How come you two haven’t busted in, yet?’

 

 

 

‘Couldn’t find a key’.

 

 

 

 

‘Chala, was the one for the cable car that the only thing Tegan gave you?' Leah asked.

 

 

The writer sighed.

 

 

‘’Fraid so…’

 

 

‘Aw, man!’

 

 

Adopppp reluctantly set down his copious amounts of chips.

 

 

 

‘Now we’re gonna have to sit here and wait!!’

 

 

 

‘It isn’t so bad’, Leah protested.

 

 

‘After all we’ve got plenty of company!’

 

 

 

‘Company?’ Birdy tilted her head in confusion.

 

 

‘What do you mean?

 

All I can see is the five of us-‘

 

 

 

At least six bushy-tailed critters poked their heads out from under Adopppp’s scarf.

 

 

 

‘Leah’s trick really works!’

 

 

 

Faced with the perfect distraction, Chala grasped Bronwyn’s arm, and took her aside.

 

 

 

‘Hey, you two doing okay?

 

I know that after what happened last year, Birdy stopped writing Roila fanfiction-‘

 

 

 

‘That is a bad thing to ask about right now’.

 

 

‘Huh?

 

What do you-‘

 

 

 

‘Birdy has ears like a hound-dog, okay?’

 

 

 

She leaned in closer to whisper in Chala’s ear:

 

 

 

‘What happened that time…she took it real hard.

 

 

I’d rather we not bring up any bad memories here…yet’.

 

 

 

Yet?

 

 

 

 

‘Out of the way!! Out of the way!!’

 

 

 

A blur in a white coat zipped by Leah and Adopppp, just about knocking them over!

 

 

 

Galloping up the stairs past by a wide-eyed Birdy, she whipped a key out of one of her pockets, and tried desperately to get the door open.

 

 

 

‘Nooo, why are you not working, ahhh-!!’

 

 

 

‘Tegan!?’

 

 

 

She briefly interrupted her worried rant to distractedly wave at her guests.

 

 

‘Oh-hi!’

 

 

Running back down the stairs at a thousand miles per hour, she skated by Chala and Bronwyn to the windows—only to find them locked.

 

 

 

‘Agh, why is everything iced around here!?’

 

 

 

‘What are you doing?’

 

 

‘I had a snowball fight with Jas, and I won’.

 

 

‘And now they're after you?’ Bronwyn clarified.

 

 

‘TEGANN!!’

 

 

‘Yeah, they're after you…’

 

 

Chala put a hand on the panicking girl’s shoulder.

 

 

‘You know, if you really want to get in so badly, you could just always knock in these bad boys'.

 

 

 

...

 

 

‘Knock them in?’

 

 

 

‘Don’t look at me like that!

 

It’s _your_ place isn’t it!?’

 

 

 

‘Uh-‘

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Bronwyn, having found herself no longer a part of the dominant conversation, wandered back over to Birdy.

 

 

 

‘Feels a little weird to be back up here, right?’

 

 

She shifted a little so that her arms were more tightly curled around her knees.

 

 

‘Yeah, I guess…I don’t know.

 

There’s just something about this place that makes me uncomfortable’.

 

 

 

_Exactly what I think._

 

 

 

Something glittered on the ground nearby, and she stooped to pick it up.

 

 

 

_A…yellow totem?_

 

 

 

Looking through the little window-

 

 

 

‘Ah!’

 

 

She dropped it as a searing pain ripped through her fingers.

 

 

‘You okay!?’ Birdy cried out.

 

 

‘Y-yeah’.

 

 

Bronwyn carefully tested each one of her smarting digits.

 

 

‘I think so…’

 

 

 

‘Did you manage to hand over that card to CinderScoria, yet?’

 

 

Tegan sighed regretfully.

 

 

‘Nope…I shouldn’t have hit them with that last snowball…’

 

 

‘Maybe you should just let them catch you, then’.

 

 

‘ _NO_ WAY!!’

 

 

‘But then you’d be able to-‘

 

 

‘Snow down the back of my neck is what I’d like to avoid, thank you very much!’

 

 

‘Okay, okay…’

 

 

 

To the side of the old, stone house, they found a window at least three feet above them.

 

 

Chala noticed an empty axe holder mounted on the wall.

 

 

 

_This could come in handy sometime...shame it's missing..._

 

 

 

But for now, they had to deal with height issues.

 

 

‘Grab the other end of that random cabinet, would ya?’

 

 

‘Sure’.

 

 

Tegan hurried right over and firmly grasped the right handle.

 

 

Meanwhile, Chala got hold of the left.

 

 

‘Ready?’

 

 

‘It’s either this, or Snow Time!

 

And I _reeaaallyy_ don’t want Snow Time…’

 

 

 

So, they pushed.

 

 

And pushed.

 

 

 

Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t that hard to move.

 

 

Stepping away from their handiwork, Chala climbed up on top of it, ~~almost fell off,~~ and proceeded to pull herself through the opening.

 

 

_Just like Tarzan…_

 

 

THUD.

 

 

_**Definitely** not like Tarzan…_

 

 

Her shoe had slipped on the way down, and she’d ended up doing a face-plant!

 

 

 

‘Chala?

 

You okay!?’

 

 

 

‘Ohhh…’

 

 

 

She slowly hauled herself to her feet.

 

 

 

‘I’ll live’.

 

 

 

 

Just as Tegan was halfway through the gap herself, there was a sparking sound from the lone lightbulb in the ceiling.

 

 

 

A lightbulb that quickly _died_ soon after.

 

 

 

‘Welp, that’s not good’.

 

 

 

‘Yeah’, her window-bound companion agreed.

 

 

‘Which is why I brought this’.

 

 

 

She rummaged through her coat pockets some more, uttered ‘Aha!’ Upon finding the whatever-it-was, and promptly tossed it to Chala.

 

 

 

It bounced off of her aching head.

 

 

 

‘Oops’.

 

 

 

‘And you said you _won_ that snowball fight!?’

 

 

 

‘I did, yeah…’

 

 

 

Retrieving it from where it’d landed on the floor, Chala found herself in possession of the rustier lighter ever.

 

 

 

’Where the h* did you get this monstrosity from!?’

 

 

 

‘The basement…it was gonna get thrown out’.

 

 

 

When she snapped back the lid, a bright orange flame flickered to life.

 

 

‘Huh. It still works’.

 

 

‘Pretty neat, huh?’

 

 

Stretching out an arm as far as it would go, Tegan waved at the rear of the room.

 

 

‘I think there’ a stick of deodorant in one of the bathrooms-one of the spray-on kind…if you add it to that gnarly little fireball-‘

 

 

‘I’d rather _not_ fry my brains out trying to see around here, thank you very much’.

 

 

‘Well…I was actually thinking of using it as our de-icer’.

 

 

‘Oh’.

 

 

 

With a thump, she slipped through the gap without falling on her face.

 

 

 

_How did she do that._

 

 

_**How!?** _

 

 

 

Silently making a mental note to ask her, Chala set out to find the thing.

 

 

 

_What the?_

 

 

 

In the light of her makeshift torch, she discovered a brown totem by a wire-framed bike.

 

 

Picking it up-

 

 

 

**Fire**

 

 

 

‘Oh my God!!’

 

 

 

‘Huh!?’

 

 

 

Tegan looked up in a panic.

 

 

‘What is it!?’

 

 

 

’N-nothing!’

 

 

 

 

_AquaEclipse…_

 

 

 

_That was **her**!_

 

 

 

_I’m sure of it!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Death flags may be coming. May.


	7. Hour 2: Calm Amongst The Approaching Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that you're all here, why don't you split up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one, let me tell you!!
> 
> A lot of set-up/foreshadowing, and a couple of ETN references, too.
> 
> Happy reading!! (:
> 
> P.S. I tried to fix my rampant space-making between words.
> 
> Feedback on that would also be appreciated...

_I have to tell her what I saw._

 

 

_But she’s not here yet._

 

 

_But she **really** needs to know-_

 

 

 

_Oh snap, what if she’s dead already!?_

 

 

 

No, no, don’t think like that, I’m sure she’s just fine-

 

‘Chala?

You okay?’

 

Tegan’s concerned voice floated from somewhere near the window.

 

‘You’ve been standing in that same exact spot for a good five minutes now…’

 

_Crap._

 

‘Uh…I’m…yeah.

 

I’m good…I’m just…

 

Trying to figure out what to do about something’.

 

‘Really?

Like what?’

 

_Why!?_

_Don’t ask me that-_

 

‘I thought I saw something weird, that’s all’.

 

She began to move away from the totem, then changed her mind, and slipped it into her jacket pocket.

 

_Evidence for later._

 

‘Ooh’.

 

From her creeped-out tone, Chala could tell that she was currently making a face.

 

‘Like what?’

 

‘Some odd shadow or something’, she half-lied ‘I’m sure it was nothing’.

 

‘As long as it wasn’t some kind of ghost…’

 

‘It wasn’t that.

Don’t worry’.

 

Wandering into the back storeroom was partly impulse, and partly I-need-to-get-out-of-here-before-Tegan-figures-out-what’s-up.

 

Sitting on one of the shelves was a newspaper clipping that only added to her worry:

 

MAN JAILED FOR EXCESSIVE USE OF FIREARMS

 

_Is he still there?_

 

For the sake of their extremely private getaway, she certainly hoped so!

 

Since that was the only item of interest she could see, Chala decided to look somewhere else.

 

Following the path of the wall eventually led her to an alcove of dark stone, where a group portrait hung.

 

_It’s **us!**_

 

She realized with a start.

 

_From last year…_

 

Alice was one of the tall people in the back, shyly smiling at the camera.

 

 

Adopppp had one arm around her shoulder, and Aqua was flashing a peace sign just above her head.

 

_Peace for the peaceful one, right?_ She remembered her saying…

 

_A real shame what happened to her…_

 

 

She didn’t notice the deceased’s eyes move.

 

 

A strange thumping noise on the way by had her spinning around in a slow circle.

 

 

_What was that?_

 

When it didn’t happen again, she frowned.

 

_It could’ve been Tegan…maybe…_

 

She noted the small goat skull mounted on a nearby wall.

 

_Unless it was **him**..._

 

Somehow, she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe that.

 

Winding her way through room after adjoining room, her first impressions of the lodge where it’d all started was lots of big game trophies prominently displayed on the walls, lots of ornate furniture covered in plastic, and lots of blue-shaded curtains.

 

_Looks pretty, but is cold as ice._

 

_What does Tegan see in this place?_

 

In the next-to-last one, she discovered an answering machine.

 

 

1 NEW MESSAGE

 

 

_Hm?_

 

 

Curious, she hit the playback button:

 

 

_Mx. Scoria,_

 

_I am terribly sorry to say that even if this ‘man’ truly was our escaped convict, there is simply no way for us to retrieve him at this time._

 

_The original owners of this mountain have made it quite clear to us that we are not to interfere with their work, which, unfortunately includes the issuance and follow-through of search warrants and the like._

 

_In fact, the best advice I can give you would be to never travel anywhere on the premises alone, and never travel anywhere unarmed._

 

_I know you will not be pleased by this, seeing as how your tone was so urgent last time._

 

_Thus, if you have any further things to ask us about, or just simply discuss with us do feel free to call back._

 

_Good day,_

 

_Sgt. Tait_

 

END OF MESSAGES

 

 

_Never once did Cinder ever mention this._

 

 

 

After ascending a bunch of rickety stairs, Chala reluctantly headed into the bathroom.

 

_I really **hate** how this looks in the dark…_

 

Heading over to the small cabinet, she opened it up, internally did a happy-dance when she saw the spray-on deodorant, and reached out-

 

RAWR-RR!!

 

A black-and-white furred head with _teeth_ roared in her face.

 

‘No-!!’

 

It shot right past her like a prickly rocket, scraping her legs and giving her the biggest heart attack yet!!

 

‘Ah, j*f*c*!!’

 

Brushing stray hairs off of her pant-legs, the usually unflappable woman found herself shivering like crazy as she left the room.

 

And then remembered that she’d forgotten to grab the stupid thing.

 

 

Leah looked at her watch.

 

’Hey, when do you think Chala and Tegan are coming back?’

 

‘I don’t know’, Birdy replied ‘But I hope it’s soon! My toes are turning into unfeeling sausages, and I am getting greatly disturbed!!’

 

 

Right on cue, there was a whooshing sound from behind the front door.

 

Chala could be seen (albeit a little warped) through the frosted front window.

 

‘What’s she doing?’ Adopppp strained his eyes to see, ‘It looks like she’s trying to burn the door down!’

 

A second later, she swung it wide.

 

‘Hi guys!

Welcome to my party’.

 

Bronwyn blinked in disbelief.

 

‘Is that a makeshift flamethrower you’ve got there!?’

 

‘Y-‘

 

A familiar critter with wiry fur and ridiculously-sharp teeth raced by her with a vengeance!

 

‘Aghh! Not _you_ again!!’

 

The squirrels all scattered at the sudden movement, and Adopppp found himself scurrying frantically after them.

 

‘Nooo-!

 

All my friends are disappearing!!’

 

Come back! Come back!!

 

 

The sounds of rushing footsteps filled their ears, and soon, an exhausted Tegan appeared in the door frame.

 

‘How…cute…a baby wolverine!’

 

‘'Cute' is not the word I would use to describe it’.

 

‘Aw, but it likes you though!’ Bird chided, ‘It followed you all the way here, didn’t it?’

 

Chala just huffed in annoyance.

 

 

‘It’s blue-er than I remember’, he remarked.

 

‘Yeah, I second that!’

 

‘It’s always been this way, Bird’.

 

‘What, really?’

 

‘I think it would look better with the lights on’, was Leah’s final verdict.

 

‘As much as I love this place’, Tegan added…I have to agree’.

 

‘There you are!’

 

‘Oh no…’

 

Cinder walked in with a snowball in one hand, and an overnight bag in the other.

 

‘Hi there, all! I’m here too’.

 

AquaEclipse waved as she entered on the other’s heels.

 

 

And then Mystic arrived.

 

‘…’

 

‘…’

 

Everyone went dead silent.

 

‘…Don’t stop talking on my account. Not like we want to make this any more awkward than it has to be’.

 

‘Nice to see you too, Mystic’.

 

Tegan forced a smile.

 

‘I’m glad you made it!’

 

 

‘Yeah’.

 

 

She made no move to settle in, however.

 

‘…You want to go take one of the guest rooms, or something?

I could help you move in, if you’d like-‘

 

_‘No!’_

 

The venom behind it ripped straight into her heart!

 

‘I mean…no’.

 

Her eyes glinted with remorse.

 

‘I’ll just…do it myself’.

 

‘Okay’.

 

 

The room stayed in silence until the clip-clopping of her boots had completely vanished into the distance.

 

Then, Bronwyn spoke up:

 

‘…I’m gonna set up that fire, it’s freezing in here’.

 

‘I’ll help’, Aqua offered.

 

‘I…’ Leah dug through her bag, ’Seem to be missing my toothbrush pouch?’

 

Adopppp looked up from his unenviable task of getting all those chips onto a table.

 

‘Is it in the cable car?’

 

‘I don’t know…’

 

’…Hm. That’s weird.

After I’m done with this, mind if I help you look?’

 

’Nope, not at all!’

 

‘And _I_ am going upstairs to take a bath!’ Cinderscoria flashed Tegan a grin; a silent promise that they would clearly have to continue this later.

 

‘All that running made me a gross, sweaty mess’.

 

‘Alright’.

 

Tegan’s gaze lingered on the stairs.

 

‘I think I’m gonna go check up on Mystic…in a little while…’

 

‘Sounds good’, Chala replied ‘I think I’ll go back to that cute little cottage in the woods I found earlier’.

 

‘So _that’s_ where you were!’ Leah exclaimed.

 

‘Yup! Took me forever to get there, and another forever to get back’.

 

‘Ooh, can I go too?’ Birdy asked ‘I’d hate to hang around out here without doing anything useful’.

 

‘Sure, why not? 

It might even give you a bit of Roila inspiration’.

 

‘You’re gonna need this, then…’

 

Tegan fished out a giant key-ring from the pocket of her jeans, and unhooked one.

 

‘Here’.

 

Chala took it and inwardly steeled herself for the indomitable trek she was about to face.

 

‘Thanks!’

 

‘No problem!’

 

She started to head up the stairs toward her own guest room.

 

‘Oh, and one more thing before I forget-‘

 

She gestured to the great outdoors.

 

‘There’s a generator out there somewhere…should make it easier for you two to see where you’re going’.

 

‘Thanks for the tip’, Chala said.

 

‘Yeah!’

 

Tegan gave them both a small smile.

 

’It’s nothing, really…’

 

 

The temperature had dropped since she’d been out there last; it now felt as if it were below zero rather than 10-degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Birdy hugged herself for warmth.

 

‘It’s like we ended up in Antarctica overnight’.

 

Chala nodded.

 

‘Yeah, I think I forgot to pack three pairs of everything’.

 

They’d left the relative comfort of the house, and were now crossing a creaky, old bridge.

 

At the middle of it, Chala felt her phone buzz.

 

_Who is it this time?_

 

Sadly, she hadn’t yet had a chance to call Penelope back.

 

Maybe this was now her, about to act like Ms. Snark.

 

_Certainly wouldn’t surprise me any…_

 

Slipping it out of her pocket, she was surprised to find that it was someone else.

 

‘Who’s that?’ Birdy asked, attempting to sneak a peek over her shoulder.

 

‘Nobody!’ she said quickly.

 

‘Really?

 

‘Yeah’.

 

Her companion got a funny look on her face.

 

‘Is it, like, an S.O. or something?’

 

‘No!’

 

‘But you’re acting all iffy-‘

 

She cut herself off.

 

‘You know what?

 

I’m not gonna be that one friend who’s nosy about everything.

 

_However,_ before you go off and answer Mx. Mysterioso, I’m thinking we should take a selfie here; it’s so gorgeous!!’

 

Chala privately breathed a sigh of relief.

 

’True that’.

 

She unlocked her phone, and hit the Camera App.

 

‘Ready?’

 

‘Yes~!’

 

Moving closer together, the two smiled for the lens.

 

_**Man** , it’s hard to maneuver this thing in the dark-!_

 

 

FLASH!

 

 

‘What’s it look like? What’s it look like?’

 

Chala tried not to grimace at her own handiwork.

 

‘I think I got all but half of me'.

 

‘Huh. Yeah, I can see that…pfft…!’

 

It was as she’d said:

 

Birdy was completely there on the right, but Chala?

 

It looked like she’d been caught diving into the left-side of the picture; everything below the nose was gone!

 

 

As they continued onwards, another totem was stumbled upon in front of a pile of logs: a bright-red one.

 

Oh great, what’s this one do?

 

She lifted it up off the ground…

 

A glimpse of Tegan’s beanie filled her mind—a cry of pain shortly followed!

 

_No…not again…_

 

‘Did you get the generator up and running, yet?’

 

‘Uh…no!’

 

_Now that’s **two** of my friends in danger!_

 

 

Walking through the doorway that led to said generator, it took little less than a minute for her to flip the switch, and then pull the cord a couple of times.

 

A spotlight suddenly shone on the main gate.

 

‘You did it! Yaay!!’

 

Heading over there, all Chala had to do then was hit the button to make the light turn green, and then lift the latch.

 

‘And voila!

We’re outta here’.

 

Birdy excitedly slid through the gap, and she soon followed suit.

 

 

At first, she’d seemed happy and animated despite everything.

 

But when they passed the police tape draped over a giant totem pole, that constant light of enthusiasm immediately died.

 

‘There’s still remnants of the investigation, here?’

 

She swallowed hard before continuing.

 

‘I would’ve thought…that the detectives had cleared all their stuff out by now’.

 

‘Well, her case was never officially closed…’

 

‘Yeah, you’re right’.

 

Her voice seemed to crack.

 

’Someday, I hope they catch whoever did this’.

 

As much as she wanted to let Birdy mourn in peace, she had to know:

 

‘Do you…remember how it went down?’

 

‘Ha!’

 

Her breaths were short and ragged.

 

‘Of course I do!

 

It was only because we had the stupid idea to get out quick by leaping off of the flipping banister!’

 

_Hm?_

 

‘Forgive me for sounding dumb, but…why did you do that again?’

 

‘Well it’s not like we knew they were going to turn right around and attack us…’

 

 

But that wasn’t something she was supposed to hear.

 

 

 

SCREEE-EEE-

 

‘What the heck was that!?’

 

Birdy spun from one side to the other, terrified.

 

‘I don’t know…maybe it was that possessed hedgehog from earlier’.

 

‘Wolverines don’t sound like women screaming their lungs out!’

 

‘Yeah’.

 

 

They didn’t really have a choice but to keep going anyway…

 

 

A pile of boulders blocked the path, but there was still a small space that they could squeeze through.

 

‘Last time, I didn’t have to do this’.

 

‘Well, you did get there from much closer that other time, right-‘

 

 

CRUNCH!!

 

 

‘Birdy!?’

 

A minute ago, she’d been leaning on a wooden railing-

 

Fearing the worst, she ran up to the very edge of the drop-off.

 

‘You okay!?’

 

She saw her sit there on the ground for a second, dazed, and then haphazardly pull herself up.

 

‘I’m good…I think…’

 

_Phew…_

 

Shining her flashlight around the new area, she saw a ton of unfinished wooden scaffolding, and one conspicuous mine cart.

 

‘Wow…you single-handedly managed to discover a previously-unknown area’.

 

‘Whoa…’

 

Birdy mimed putting on a hard-hat.

 

‘Just call me Archaeologist_Of_Scarlet!’

 

Chala snorted.

 

‘Okay, Archy!’

 

 

Because like h* she was going to leave her there on her own, Chala crawled through a second gap in the rails, and jumped down to meet her.

 

 

**Wait!**

 

 

She had the sickening sensation that something was right behind her!

 

But it was too late.

 

Her feet hit the ground, and when she looked back-

 

**Gone.**

 

 

‘Aw, man! More blockage!!’

 

Birdy pouted at the mine cart so conveniently wedged in between where they were at present, and where they wanted to get to.

 

‘Yeah, but at least this one’s movable’.

 

She grasped the edge of it, and pushed.

 

_Oookay, harder than it looks…_

 

‘Hey, care to help me out?’

 

’Sure’.

 

With the both of them pitting all their strength against the obstruction, they were _finally_ able to shove it loose.

 

 

‘Yes!’

 

Birdy pumped both fists in celebration.

 

‘We’re strong like demons, baby!!’

 

 

Eventually, they both heard a clattering noise.

 

‘What’s that?’ she asked.

 

Chala’s heart rate kicked up.

 

‘Sounds like-!’

 

A second mine cart came flying around the bend, speeding along the tracks at fifty miles an hour!!

 

‘Yikes!’ Birdy shouted.

 

Chala tried to stop it, but it was moving too fast-

 

 

THUMP!

 

 

_Huh!?_

 

 

She found herself at the side of the tracks, Birdy’s arms wrapped around her mid-section.

 

‘Oh my go-osh…’

 

Sitting up the other girl winced at her aching knees.

 

‘I thought we were goners for a second there…’

 

‘...You saved me’.

 

‘Yup.

 

…

 

Why do you look so surprised? That’s what friends do, remember!?’

 

 

Still a bit rattled by the near-miss, Chala almost didn’t see the next totem.

 

_It’s white…_

 

Retrieving it from its niche at the end of the tracks, she looked inside to hear a very familiar voice say:

 

_What? I’m…alive?_

 

 

Birdy noticed her staring intently.

 

‘What? _What!?’_

 

 

She shook her head.

 

‘Let’s get going’.

 

 

Back-tracking a bit to the stairs on the right, Chala found a cigarette stub carelessly placed among some barrels at the very top.

 

‘Ew! Who smokes down here!?’

 

‘No one _we’d_ want to meet, I’m sure…’

 

 

Looking a little closer at the wall, she was also able to pinpoint some sort of…symbol…

 

_Looks a bit like a caribou skull._

 

_Or…perhaps…_

 

‘That kinda looks like the carnival master’, Birdy observed.

 

‘You know, from Escape the Night?’

 

‘Yeah…’

 

 

CRACKLE-THUD!

 

 

‘Waaugh!’

 

‘Aah!!’

 

 

The two girls just barely missed being squashed by a falling beam!

 

 

‘You okay!?’

 

‘ _You_ okay!?’

 

 

For a moment, they both stood there, trying to catch their breaths.

 

Then:

 

‘Maybe we should get out of here…’

 

Chala nodded in agreement.

 

‘My thoughts exactly’.

 

 

There was a map of every single dangerous area in the mine spelled out for them just lying there on a worm-eaten table.

 

Chala swiped it, within a heartbeat of seeing it.

 

_Might come in handy, someday._

 

 

Following the adjoining tunnel to the end, Birdy raced out with a cry of joy.

 

‘Freeeedoomm!!’

 

She spun in a few happy circles as Chala went on ahead.

 

_No way…another one!?_

 

How many did that make, now?

 

Three?

 

Four?

 

 

Picking up this latest totem, she couldn’t help but feel dread at its color:

 

Brown.

 

 

_The last time I picked up a brown one…_

 

 

She looked into it.

 

A familiar person’s gurgling screams were cut off with a tremendous CLANG.

 

 

Birdy realized that she was being stared at again.

 

 

‘What!?’

 

Chala blinked confusedly for a second, and then walked on.

 

 

‘Oooh!!’

 

Birdy snatched up the lookout binoculars the second she saw them.

 

‘These are fun!’

 

‘See anything in ‘em?’

 

‘Yeah!

That cottage you were telling us about-

 

Oh, oh…’

 

‘What?’

 

‘Somebody’s there’.

 

‘What!?

Let me see!’

 

As soon as Birdy let go, she pounced onto the lens!

 

‘Huh.

I don’t see anyth-

 

A sudden pale head popped up out of nowhere, eyes red with malice!

 

‘AAAAHHH!!’

 

‘What?

What’d you see!?’

 

‘It…uh…’

 

_'I think I saw a vampire, but it looked like it was missing half of its face, so I don’t know…'_

 

_Yeah._

 

_She’ll believe that._

 

 

On their way out, Chala shone her flashlight on a strategically-positioned, wooden sign

 

‘Did you see this bulletin?’

 

‘No’.

 

 

‘Wolves, bears, caribou…better be careful around here’.

 

Birdy shuddered.

 

‘Ugh…nothing against those guys but I hope they don’t ever show up’.

 

 

 

Back at the gate to the cabin trail, Chala lifted the latch, swung it open, and this time…

 

 

A feathered thing flew out at them from nowhere!!

 

‘Geezome, f*s*-!!’

 

‘Did you see that caribou!? And then that bird…!!’

 

‘D* thing…’

 

‘Hey, be nice to our feathered friends!!’

 

‘I would, if they wouldn’t scare me half to death!’

 

She shook her head in disgust.

 

‘That is the fourth time tonight I’ve been jump-scared, did you know that!?’

 

Birdy shrugged.

 

‘Are you feelin’ lucky?’

 

‘H* no!!’

 

 

_Finally!!_

 

They’d finally reached _the end!!_

 

Shame it was currently blocked.

 

‘Come on, Tegan!’ Chala sighed ‘You really didn’t warn us about this fallen tree!?’

 

‘Maybe she just forgot’, Birdy defended ‘She only gets to come out here once every Winter, after all!’

 

‘Yeah, how does that even work anyway?’

 

‘I don’t know!’

 

Birdy walked up to it, and began to climb.

 

‘Whoo, you go girl!’

 

‘Thanks!!’ she called over her shoulder.

 

Upon hauling herself over the top, she put a hand to her forehead, and pretended to be amazed at the view.

 

‘Come on up, the scenery’s fine!’

 

‘Don’t mind if I do!’

 

Before she’d even gotten one foot up into the branches, though-

 

‘Birdy?’

 

She was no longer in sight!

 

_‘Birdy!?’_

 

 

‘AAAAHHHHH-!!’

 

 

Back at the lodge, Cinderscoria was just about to set up their bath, when Aqua’s sing-songy voice echoed from below:

 

‘Heeeyyy~!

 

Want to help me set up the fire?’

 

‘I thought you and Bronwyn were doing that’, they responded.

 

‘Bronwyn found Leah’s missing bag, and left already’.

 

‘Okay…I’ll come down as soon as I get the hot water running!’

 

‘Thank you~! You’re a lifesaver~!’

 

‘You know it~!’

 

Unfortunately, when they turned the knob only _cold_ water cascaded down.

 

_Aw, what?_

 

‘Think you could set up the heater, too?’

 

‘Heater?’

 

‘Yeah'.

 

She turned the knob the opposite way this time, and _still_ got nothing.

 

'Turns there _is_ no hot water!’

 

 

Exiting the room, Cinder was all set to go downstairs when an unearthly scream echoed through the air!

 

_Okaaay…And just what was **that** supposed to be?_

 

 

Aqua was _just_ putting the finishing touches on her roaring flame when Cinder approached.

 

‘I see you did just fine without me’.

 

‘Yeah...'

 

She sat back on her heels, contemplating.

 

‘I guess I did…I don’t know why but I thought it was going to be much harder than it actually was’.

 

‘Well how about we do something about this water problem instead?’

 

‘You mean, like, fiddle around in the boiler room?’

 

‘Yup…’

 

‘Cool.

I’m up for that’.

 

 

‘Do you think Mystic will ever come around?’

 

They’d started the long walk to the lodge’s underbelly.

 

‘I mean’, Aqua tried to put her thoughts in order ‘I know we kinda messed-up and all, but is it really that possible for someone to carry around a grudge for so long?’

 

Cinder shrugged.

 

‘All I know is if this awkward little dance we’ve got going on right now continues to be an awkward little dance, nobody’s going to be able to move on from anything’.

 

‘Well judging from what just happened I get the feeling that we’ve all got a long way to go until we hit that point’.

 

 

The conversation stagnated a bit as they continued walking, but, eventually, she said:

 

‘Do you think Tegan’s plan is a good one? I kinda feel like it’s going to blow up in her face, myself…’

 

‘Well, she seems happy that we’re all here, and that’s enough for me’.

 

 

At the end of an insane amount of stairs, they finally found what they were looking for.

 

Aqua opened up a closet full of pipes.

 

‘Nope!

I don’t know how anything works…’

 

‘Oh yeah?’.

 

Cinder peeked over her shoulder.

 

‘Huh’.

 

‘’Huh’, what?’

 

‘I actually think we’re looking for this over here…’

 

They moved to the left, and began to inspect the wall-mounted apparatus.

 

‘Hey, a baseball bat!’

 

The stymied writer picked it up from the bowels.

 

‘Somebody want to play baseball in the snow or something?’

 

’Nah…but somebody should’.

 

They stepped back.

 

‘Think you had the right idea, going back to the closet.

Can you hold this for a minute?’

 

‘Sure’.

 

Aqua placed the bat where she'd originally found it, and took hold of Cinder’s flashlight.

 

‘See anything useful?’

 

‘Not yet-‘

 

The sounds of something moving in the distance cut them off.

 

‘What was that?’

 

‘A squirrel?’ Aqua guessed ‘Adopppp had like, fifty perched on his shoulders when I saw him last’.

 

Turning again to the pipes, they did…something with the copious amounts of wiring, and then let it be.

 

‘I think…all we’ll have to do now is up the water pressure’.

 

‘Uh…how do we do that?’

 

‘You have to turn the dial until it makes noise, and then hit the button’.

 

‘A-okay…’

 

She did exactly what they'd said and turned the dial until rumbling sounds came from above them.

 

She then poked the blinking, green button.

 

‘And…done!’

 

CLUNK!

 

‘…Is that good?’

 

They looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

 

‘Yeah, that’s good.

 

Hi-five?’

 

‘Hi-five!’

 

 

A faraway roar interrupted their sweet bonding experience.

 

‘Okay, what was that…?’

 

‘Beats me’.

 

Aqua shone the light around the space nervously.

 

‘Getting a little freaked-out here, not gonna lie…’

 

Cinder nodded.

 

‘Yeah, me too.

 

Let’s get out of here’.

 

The clunking noises came again.

 

‘…Does this basement have any monsters?’

 

‘None to my knowledge…’

 

‘Should we go check it out?’

 

‘With no weapons?’

 

_Yeah, that’s no good._

 

‘I’m taking the bat’.

 

 

Cautiously, they inched down the shadowed corridor-

 

A ghostly monk with a hockey mask upon his face leaped out of the shadows!!

 

‘AHHH!!’

 

‘HIT IT AQUA, HIT IT!!’

 

When she didn’t hit it, Cinder took the bat themselves, and smacked him halfway across the room!

 

CLUNK.

 

‘W-w-well…that was anti-climactic’.

 

‘Wonder if it was _you_ making all those weird noises, you-!!’

 

They whipped off his mask.

 

‘Ey?’

 

It was a mannequin.

 

Perched on a skateboard.

 

‘Hey guys!’

 

Tegan waved at them from a good ways behind the thing.

 

‘I see you found my masterpiece’.

 

‘Masterpiece!?’

 

‘Yeah’.

 

She pointed to the window Chala had opened.

 

‘I had a flash of inspiration while I was waiting for our flame master to get a hold of the deodorant’.

 

‘Deodorant?’

 

‘To de-ice the door…I gave her a lighter and everything!’

 

She gestured to the nearest stairwell.

 

‘I was gonna try and bring this guy upstairs for you all to appreciate’.

 

‘So those weird noises we heard was just you wheeling that mannequin along?’

 

Aqua felt light-headed with relief.

 

‘Yeah…’

 

She looked confused.

 

‘Why?

What did you think it was?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter:
> 
> Mike-Chala
> 
> Jess-Bird
> 
> &
> 
> Sam-Cinder
> 
> Josh-Aqua


	8. The Dynamic Duo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leah and Adopppp set out to find her missing toiletry pouch.

They were alone.

 

Leah didn’t like it.

 

‘Kinda creepy how there’s nothing out here except us…’

 

‘I agree with that statement wholeheartedly!’

 

‘I just wish all my squirrel friends were still here’.

 

Adopppp’s perpetual smile fell.

 

‘Hey, don’t be upset!

 

I’m sure they’re all waiting for you back at the lodge’.

 

‘I hope so…’

 

 

Returning to the main gate, he unlatched it, and then swung it wide.

 

‘After you, Miss Leah!’

 

She nodded to him gratefully.

 

‘Why thank you, kind Sir!’

 

 

A little ways into their trek, he said, ‘You know what? I think we’re doing this wrong’.

 

‘Doing what wrong?’

 

Adopppp shot an apprehensive glance back at the lodge.

 

‘When Mystic showed up, sure people were polite, but nobody really tried to make things right'.

 

He shook his head.

 

‘We all kinda just stood there, hoping she would leave…except Tegan, anyhow’.

 

The determined boy stood up straighter!

 

‘When we find your bag, I think we should make more of an effort to hear her side of the story!

 

You know, just…to try to find some common ground’.

 

He punched a fist into the air!!

 

‘If we do that, then we’re bound to overturn the unhappy past we all share for good!’

 

‘Well, I’m glad you're such an optimist’, Leah replied.

 

‘I think we’re going to need one if we’re ever going to get through this night in one piece-‘

 

 

A light suddenly switched on, and she flinched.

 

 

‘Okay, then…definitely wasn’t expecting that!”

 

‘Ooh, look!!

There’s a new path, now!!!’

 

The puppy-dog eyes he flashed right then were utterly adorable.

 

‘Can we go down it?

Pretty please!?’

 

‘I don’t know…’

 

She tried to see down it from where they were, but most of it was hidden in shadow.

 

‘Isn’t it usually a bad idea to leave the path?’

 

‘Well if anything goes wrong, I’ll kick ‘em in the shins!!’

 

Leah raised both eyebrows at that, but did nothing to dissuade him.

 

‘…I think I’ll be holding you to that’.

 

 

‘Hey, thanks again for helping me with this’.

 

‘Aw, it’s no problem at all!

 

Friends help friends and that’s all there is to it!!’

 

She couldn’t help but laugh.

 

‘How are you always so enthusiastic about everything!?

 

It’s like you’ve got a limitless supply of energy--second only to Tegan and Birdy, of course!’

 

Adopppp grinned.

 

‘It’s one of my many amazing talents!’

 

Leah grinned, herself.

 

‘Of course’.

 

 

‘Was it really just your toothbrush you left behind?’

 

‘Yee-up’.

 

Leah sighed.

 

‘You’d think it would’ve been something else important, like pj’s, or extra blankets-‘

 

‘Will the pouch be hard to find?’

 

‘Not really’.

 

She held up one of her hands, and pointed to it.

 

‘It’s hot-pink, and at least this big’.

 

‘Whoa!! Your toothbrush must be huge!!!’

 

‘Ha-ha!

Yeah, I guess so’.

 

 

Eventually, they came upon a massive totem pole just sitting there in the middle of nowhere.

 

‘Wouldn’t want to stick my hand in that interesting mug!’

 

’I do!’

 

_How did I **know** you were going to say that._

 

True to his word, he walked right up to it, and shoved in his hand as far as it would go!

 

‘How’s it feel?’

 

‘Very wooden!

 

I-

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

 

Uh-oh…’

 

‘Uh-oh, what!?’

 

‘I think it’s stuck-whoahhh!!’

 

Leah jumped as the boy’s arm was suddenly drawn even further inside of it!

 

‘Adopppp!?’

 

She quickly sprang to his rescue!

 

Firmly grasping the trapped limb with both hands, she pulled, and it came out…rather easily?

 

_Huh!?_

 

‘Phew…’

 

Adopppp breathed a sigh of relief.

 

‘Thought I was done-for when my foot slipped’.

 

 

Leah mentally face-palmed.

 

 

 

SCREE-EEEE!!

 

 

‘What was that!?’

 

 

Having continued on their way again, they were less-than-thrilled to hear the hear-pitched sound.

 

‘Maybe it was the wind’, Adopppp suggested.

 

‘I don’t think so’.

 

Leah shivered.

 

‘We should hurry it up so that whatever that was doesn’t get us!’

 

 

Fortunately, the cable car station on this side of the mountain wasn’t _too_ far away…

 

‘Wha-!?’

 

‘Ew, is that a-!?’

 

 

Pig’s head.

 

 

On the ground.

 

 

In a puddle of its own blood.

 

 

Two feet in front of the door.

 

 

A note had been crudely stuffed into its crimson-encrusted neck cavity.

 

Almost-retching from the stench, he reached out, and carefully removed it.

 

 

**Welcome Back**

 

 

‘Uh, Leah…’

 

 

The lights suddenly turned off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers are great. (:


	9. Killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enough exposition. It all starts within the next couple hours.

Nine chess pieces in an unfair game.

 

 

Was it too late to go back?

 

 

**_Yes._ **

 

 

**_Yes it is._ **

 

 

 

_But this isn’t what I want-_

 

 

_**This isn’t about you!!** _

 

 

_**You think any of what happened to us is fair!?** _

 

 

_**That what happened to** her **was fair!?**_

 

 

_**Look…** _

 

 

**_I get that you’re a lovely person inside and out, okay?_ **

 

 

**_I get that these are your friends, and you’d go to bat for them in a heartbeat._ **

 

 

_Then why don’t you-_

 

 

**_YOU DON’T GET IT!!_ **

 

 

 

**You don’t know what it was like to be betrayed.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...


	10. Hour 3: Start Of Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The death count will now begin.

‘Thanks a million, guys!

There’s no way I would’ve been able to get him up here without you’.

 

Jas straightened his mussed hood, and then stepped back to admire their handiwork.

 

‘No problem, Tegan!

I just hope this time, he stays put’.

 

‘Yeah’, Aqua agreed, ‘Those noises from earlier were _beyond_ creepy’.

 

‘Speaking of creepy…’

 

Tegan whipped out a Spirit Board and planchette from beneath her coat.

 

‘Found these tucked away in a darkened cranny’.

 

‘Oh s*!

Are those the real deal!?’

 

‘Hey, I’m not gonna use them or anything!’

 

Their host made a face.

 

‘I just wanted some input from you guys as to what I should do with them’.

 

Aqua brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes.

 

‘Like what?’

 

‘Well…’

 

Tegan glanced toward the roaring fire.

 

‘…Do I burn or do I store—as in, ‘hide somewhere impenetrable’?’

 

‘If I were you, I would burn the d* things’.

 

Her oldest, and closest friend nodded to the flames.

 

‘Have you ever seen ‘The Exorcist’?’

 

Aqua looked from one to the other in alarm.

 

‘What happens in ‘the Exorcist’?’

 

‘A _lot_ of Demonic possession’.

 

’NO! Absolutely not-‘

 

 

‘Okay, then’, Tegan said, walking up to the hearth, ‘In you go?’

 

 

Her compatriots nodded.

 

 

‘In you go’.

 

 

As the heat began to eat away at the thankless items, Jas turned to go up the stairs.

 

‘Well, that ended surprisingly-okay…’

 

Aqua headed over to the ratty couch for her knapsack.

 

‘Yeah, don’t those things usually cause much more trouble than this-?’

 

Tegan put a finger to her lips.

 

‘Please don’t jinx it.

_Please!’_

 

 

‘Welp, see you guys later, I gu-!’

 

The would-be bather cut themselves off mid-sentence.

 

‘??’

 

Aqua and Tegan gave her odd looks.

 

‘You okay?’

 

 

They barely reacted.

 

Their full attention had been effectively glued to a nearby table-

 

‘No way…’

 

Tegan felt her heart pound in her ears, and Aqua’s face drained of all blood!

 

 

Lying on its wooden surface, as if they’d never been exposed to the elements at all, were the spirit board and planchette.

 

 

‘How is this possible?’ Tegan whispered.

 

Aqua shook her head.

 

‘I don’t know, and I don't want to know…’

 

‘Nope!

I’m outta here!!’ Jas announced.

 

 

But they didn’t go on their way like they wanted.

 

 

No, instead, they went back down the stairs, and over to the tabletop as if one possessed!

 

 

‘H-Hey!!

 

Stop that…’

 

 

Their hands firmly grasped the device, and began to move it:

 

‘H…E…L…P…?’

 

‘Jas!?’

 

‘I don’t know how I’m doing this, I swear!!

 

 

The two not enslaved by some incredibly evil thing ran over to them, and put their own hands on the planchette.

 

‘Why am I doing this, why am I doing this…’

 

Aqua kept repeating it over and over.

 

‘We have to get them away from here!

Grab their hands!!’

 

Still fearing the worst, she did so.

 

 

‘Who the f* are you!?

 

 

F…R…I…E…N…D

 

 

‘Friend?’

 

Aqua could barely wrap her mind around what was happening right now…

 

‘Which friend, our friend!?’

 

Tegan tried to keep her voice calm when she spoke:

 

‘What…what friend?’

 

 

The planchette didn’t move.

 

 

‘Okay…’

 

 

Chills running up and down her spine, she addressed their captive medium:

 

 

‘Jas…can you ask it…which friend it is?’

 

 

They said it through clenched teeth:

 

‘Which friend is this…!?

 

(Like a ‘friend’ would even do something like that to begin with…)

 

 

Tegan racked her brains for anyone else it could be besides _her_.

 

 

_But **she** wouldn’t do this, so…!!_

 

_Maybe it’s…_

 

 

‘What if we tried…

 

…’

 

She racked her brains even more.

 

‘What if we tried that secret friend of hers…you know, that elf-person from the Meta-World series she told us about?’

 

 

‘He’d be even _less_ likely to do this than she would’, Jas protested.

 

‘Wait.

What are we talking about?’ Aqua asked.

 

‘Remind me to show you, later’, Tegan said, ‘After this craziness is over’.

 

 

_Who to choose, who to choose…!?_

 

‘…Can you ask it if this is Alice speaking’.

 

 

_Because she’s the only one dead as far as I know._

 

_And if he **was** real, then he probably would’ve let us have it by now!_

 

 

Jas nodded, a vein throbbing in their temple.

 

 

‘Alice, I swear to _God_ , if this is you-!!’

 

 

Yes

 

 

Aqua yelped, and almost pulled her hand away out of fear!

 

 

‘No way.

 

NO, way!’

 

 

‘Uh…let’s not panic’.

 

 

Tegan’s throat was closed up with terror, but this opened up a limitless number of possibilities in terms of what they could ask her…

 

 

_If we apologize she’ll probably accept it…God only knows we owe her one!_

 

_But…_

 

_We don’t know what happened to land her in such mortal straits to begin with, so…_

 

 

_Maybe we should ask her that instead?_

 

 

_I don’t know…_

 

 

‘Do you think we should apologize?’

 

Her frightened partner shivered.

 

‘Do you think we _should!?’_

 

‘Yeah…’

 

 

‘Hey, Alice…sorry about what happened…’

 

 

There was no ire in _this_ statement.

 

And for good reason.

 

 

K…A…E…L…A

 

 

M…U…R…D…E…R…E…D

 

 

‘Kaela?

 

Is that Alice’s real name!?’

 

Tegan shuddered.

 

‘I don’t know…’

 

 

‘Who killed you?!’

 

Jas’s voice was laced with righteous fury.

 

‘C’mon who was it!!?’

 

 

The planchette began to move one, final time…

 

 

L…I…B…

 

 

‘The library?’ Aqua guessed.

 

 

From behind Cinder, a girl with an on orange coat looked on

 

 

P…R…O…O…F

 

 

‘Proof?

 

There’s proof in the library?’

 

Tegan looked to Jas for answers, as the other, non-possessed girl speculated.

 

‘I don’t-

 

The board suddenly violently shook, and threw itself to the floor!!

 

 

CRASH!!

 

 

‘Okayokayokay-!’

 

‘That was so weird…that was so creepy…!’

 

 

Jas’s hands sprung free of whatever had been making them do its bidding, and shakily headed for the stairs.

 

‘I don’t know what that was…And I don’t _want_ to know what that was…’

 

‘Wait-!’

 

Tegan made a move to go after them.

 

‘Are you _sure_ you’re okay!?’

 

‘Nope!  
Not by a long shot!!’

 

They shook their head…and then shook it again, more wildly.

 

‘I just…I just need to take my d* bath!’

 

‘O…’

 

Their friend stopped in her tracks.

 

‘Okay’.

 

 

‘I don’t think we should do it!’

 

Aqua’s hands were trembling due to the paranormal activity they’d just witnessed.

 

‘It’s gotta be some kind of trap, or something, it always is in the movies…!’

 

Tegan squared back her shoulders.

 

‘I don’t want to do it, either, but what if that really was…Alice?

 

There could be something else going on around here that we’ve been missing!

 

Something really important…’

 

 

Chala was over that tree in the span of three seconds!!

 

‘BIRD!?

 

BIRDY!!’

 

Racing along the path at 3,000 miles an hour, she came to a random tractor whose tire treads had been sunk to their tops in snow!

 

Hastily yanking open the driver’s-side door, she screamed, and jumped back in terror!

 

A realistic-looking skull had popped up out of the seats with a SPRO-O-O-O-I-I-I-NG-!!

 

Seeing that it was merely a rubber replica on a spring, she cussed the missing driver out with the most foul curse words she knew.

 

_Are you f*g kidding me!?_

 

_Who the H* carries something like that around in their vehicle?_

 

 

‘Birdyyy!!

 

Please tell me you’re okay’.

 

 

Back-tracking in fear, the girl stumbled across yet another totem!

 

 

_Seriously…_

 

_Since when did I get so good at finding these!?_

 

 

It was a gorgeous red not commonly found in nature.

 

When she looked into it-

 

 

The blaring cry of a caribou filled her ears.

 

 

It only made her more nervous.

 

 

‘Bird-Of-Scarlet!!!!!

 

_Hey!!’_

 

 

A scary, antlered thing leaped out of the nearest bush!!!

 

 

‘AHHHH-!!’

 

‘CHALA!?’

 

‘BIRDY!!’

 

 

‘I thought I saw a person down there, so I thought I’d go and say hello.

Only, when he turned around-‘

 

She shuddered.

 

‘His face was all rotted…’

 

’So _that’s_ why you screamed!?’

 

‘Yeah…’

 

Her cheeks flushed crimson.

 

‘I…I freaked-out and hid’.

 

She lifted up the impressive points of bone.

 

‘There was a dead caribou lying just behind this bush, so…’

 

She flushed even brighter.

 

‘I decided that if anything were to find me, I would just…either scare ‘em away, or hit ‘em half to death…which I’m s* at, by the way…’

 

Chala sighed, and tapped her gently on the crown of her head.

 

‘Just don’t disappear like that ever again, okay?

I nearly busted my heart out of my ribs!!’

 

Bird giggled.

 

‘Okay!’

 

 

They didn’t notice that same man stalking them in the shadows.

 

 

At the base of a tree, Chala found the next totem:

 

Bright-yellow.

 

‘What’s that?’ Birdy asked.

 

‘A totem’, she replied matter-of-factly, ‘Want to look?’

 

‘Eh…I don’t know.

It’s kind-of creepy-looking…’

 

‘Suit yourself!’

 

 

The creaking of a wheel could be heard.

 

 

Sometime between Bird’s disappearance and right stinkin’ now, a soft snowfall had begun to coat the spindly trees in white.

 

’Ooh, it’s so pretty’, she gushed.

 

‘Yeah…’, Chala agreed, ‘It is’.

 

No sooner had she said that, though, then another unearthly shriek rent the air!!

 

‘No!!’ Birdy cried, ‘Not again!?’

 

The other prepped herself for a fight, and swung the flashlight in all directions.

 

‘It’s gotta be here!

I just know it!!’

 

The vegetation at the right side of the path rustled.

 

_There you are…_

 

Picking up a rock, she lobbed it into the woods!

 

 

In a heartbeat, a massive caribou grunted in agitation, and blasted right between them!!

 

 

Birdy and Chala both yelped and dove out of the way!!!

 

 

‘You…okay…?’ The Roila shipper panted.

 

‘Yeah…yeah…’

 

_Crazy thing nearly killed us!_

 

 

Naturally, after the harrowing scares they’d been through to date, the two girls were more than relieved to see the nice, safe cabin rise out of the fog like an old friend.

 

‘Yessss!’

 

Birdy broke into a run, and just _barely_ managed to get inside before Chala.

 

‘Eager, are we?’

 

She couldn’t hold back a smile.

 

‘You _bet_ I am!!’

 

 

On a metal shelf, there was an old mask.

 

It had the contours of a face-protector for gas-ridden areas, but that was where the resemblance ended.

 

‘Hey, Bird!’

 

She waved it over her shoulder.

 

‘Think this woulda done the job?’

 

‘In terms of what!?’

 

The writer wrinkled her nose in distaste.

 

‘It’s so creepy-looking…’

 

‘Oh, you know.

 

For scaring the s* out of that guy you saw earlier’.

 

‘Yech!’

 

She stuck out her tongue.

 

‘I suppose so’.

 

 

Because there seemed to be nothing else in there that would make the place even remotely livable, Chala was forced to come to an unfortunate conclusion:

 

‘Hey.

 

I don’t think this is the cabin, actually…’

 

Birdy rubbernecked so fast, her head almost snapped off her shoulders!

 

‘WHAT!?’

 

 

Yet another caribou hopped out of the woods, and ran off down the path in a panic causing the girls yet another heart attack!

 

‘First we get the wrong cabin, now we get scared!?’

 

‘Seems to be how our luck is right now, yeah…’

 

Soon, the faint sounds of a horrific battle reached them; ear-piercing screams, and the low, guttural sounds of a dying animal…

 

 

Chala saw the wounded creature around the next bend and _immediately_ felt herself breaking down.

 

 

_No, no, you were just fine, fine enough to scare the pants off us not even a minute ago…!_

 

 

Birdy gasped at the raw, oozing claw-marks in its neck!

 

 

‘What-what did this!?’

 

‘…I don’t know’.

 

 

At first sight, she’d known that it wasn’t gonna make it.

 

All that remained for it now was one last chance at comfort…or a swift, and merciful death.

 

 

_Sc* that!_

 

 

A quick glance at her companion confirmed it-the poor thing was tearing up.

 

_I can’t kill it!!_

 

_Bird would…_

 

Instead, she sat down at the dying creature’s side, and stroked its furry head over, and over, and over.

 

‘Hey now…it’s gonna be okay…

 

You won’t have to suffer anymore…’

 

‘Do you think…’

 

Bird didn’t finish her sentence.

 

Her heart was bleeding too much.

 

‘Shhh…it’ll be alright…

I promise…’

 

The other girl turned away, hands muffling her broken-hearted sobs.

 

 

-The caribou’s body was promptly dragged away!

 

 

‘-Ah?’

 

Chala fell onto her stomach as Birdy yelled with shock!!

 

 

The pained cries of something being shredded even further spurred her back onto her feet.

 

 

‘No…NO!!’

 

‘We’ve gotta go-!!!’

 

 

She grabbed the other’s hand, and raced off down the path, the familiar high-pitched shriek overwhelming all-

 

 

Finding a small bridge in their way, Chala shoved Birdy in front!

 

‘Jump, jump!!’

 

In a high state of fear, she did as she was told.

 

_Good!_

 

Then it was her turn.

 

_Here goes nothing-!!_

 

She leaped-

 

She hit the ground running.

 

 

‘Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit!?’

 

‘I don’t know, a bear!?’

 

 

Their pursuer was gaining on them.

 

 

‘Ahhh, no!

A fork in the road-‘

 

_Shortcut or path? Shortcut or path-_

 

_Aw, you know what!?_

 

_Forget it!!_

 

Chala hung left, and swept Birdy out in front of her again!

 

 

’TAKE THE SHORTCUT!!’

 

 

Together, they thudded up the natural stairs like the Devil was after them!

 

And although the steps were slippery as all H*, they didn’t slide once.

 

 

Running even faster than they had ever gone in their lives, they were up a second set of natural stairs, and then a hairs-breadth away from a front door!

 

Until Birdy went down on an icy patch that is…

 

‘Chala, HELP-!!’

 

F*!!!

 

Skidding back to grab her by the arm, and physically haul her to her feet, she then snatched up the key from where it’d fallen onto the deck, and jammed it into the lock!

 

‘Openitopenit-!!’

 

_Click!_

 

‘ _God_ , yes!!’

 

Chala and Birdy crammed through the opening at the exact same time.

 

As the shipper collapsed with exhaustion upon the floor, the finder slammed the door shut, and re-locked it for good measure!

 

BANG BANG BANG!!

 

‘Whyisitdoingthatcanitgetin!?’

 

‘It shouldn’t…’

 

Chala hurried over to the couch, and grabbed one end of it.

 

If we do this!

‘Can you get ahold of the other end, please?’

 

Un-crumpling herself from the puddle of nerves she was currently in, Birdy slunk over to do the thing she needed to do, when she needed to do it.

 

‘Ready?’

 

‘We gonna put this in front of the door, or something?’

 

‘Mm-hm…’

 

_3,_

 

_2,_

 

_1…_

 

 

_HEAVE!!_

 

 

Grunting with the effort, the two girls maneuvered it into its proper place: snug against the cabin’s entrance.

 

‘Now that we’ve got a few seconds to _breathe_ around here…’

 

Birdy curled up on the wooden floorboards as Chala searched for a heat source.

 

 

_It would really bad if we managed to escape that thing only to die of hypothermia._

 

 

The matches were easy enough to find…they were just lying there on a bureau in the back of the room.

 

Heading up to the fireplace, she opened the grate, tossed in a few more logs for good measure, and struck her first match.

 

_Fire, here we come!_

 

 

CRASH!!

 

 

The spent bundle of wool and cotton attempting to take a stress-nap on the floor, stirred.

 

‘Whazzat…?’

 

Chala started from her post in front of the window.

 

‘This can’t be good’.

 

She got up from her crouch, and slowly made her way to the back of the cottage.

 

Snow was blowing in from someplace…

 

Feeling dread seep into her gut, she followed the delicate trail into the bedroom, where a phone was casually resting among the glass shards of an utterly shattered window.

 

 

_This is Birdy’s…_

 

 

Gingerly lifting it up, she turned to go back to her drowsy charge-

 

 

‘AHHHHH-‘

 

 

_RII_ IPPP-SKRAAA _ASHHH!!_

 

 

_‘BIRDY!?’_

 

 

Chala pussyfooted it into the living room just in time to see Birdy perfectly-framed in the big, picture window.

 

 

Her aching fingers and toes tried _desperately_ to cling to the fraying edges.

 

 

‘CHALAAAA-‘

 

 

Something yanked hard on the back of her head, and dragged her out into the night!

 

 

Tegan went first, flashlight in hand.

 

She’d borrowed it from Aqua after they’d officially decided that _yes, they were doing this._

 

 

_I just hope this doesn’t turn out to be a mistake…_

 

 

Once they’d climbed down the stairs, they passed through a study.

 

 

One with a random light flickering beneath the floor.

 

 

Trying not to let her heart jump out her throat, Tegan knelt down, and nervously removed the vent.

 

 

Golden light shone through the gap unabated.

 

 

’Okay, that’s weird’, Aqua whimpered ‘Barely any power’s on right now except for the hot water…’

 

Tegan gulped.

 

‘Let’s uh…let’s not worry about it…’

 

 

The only reason they were able to tell that they’d discovered the library was when at least five books hurled themselves from the shelves and almost took off their heads!!

 

 

‘Ahh-!!’

 

_‘Geddown!!’_

 

 

Waiting for a new projectile to fly in their faces the minute they let down their guards…they got nothing.

 

Aqua breathed a ragged sigh, while Tegan inspected the panel that the leaping novels had inadvertently revealed.

 

‘Look…it’s a button!’

 

‘…Are you gonna push it?’

 

 

_…We need answers._

 

 

_Plnk._

 

 

WHOOOOOSSSHH-

 

 

The left-hand side of the bookcase swung open!

 

 

‘Whoa, a secret passageway!’

 

‘Amazing…’, Tegan peeked inside.

 

‘Seems pretty empty to me…’

 

‘…I don’t suppose you want to go first?’

 

‘Ha, ha very funny!’

 

 

They went together.

 

 

A video screen caught them unawares with their escapades, but they were not disturbed in the least.

 

 

Aqua got ahold of the photo just randomly lying there on a table.

 

 

_It’s that one we took from a year ago…only…_

 

 

‘Oh my God! Alice’s face is cut out!!’

 

‘B-Birdy and Bronwyn’s are actually burned…’ Tegan shuddered.

 

‘I’m gonna turn it over’.

 

 

Written in bleeding orange ink was the message:

 

 

**19 years I’ve lived, and 19 years I’ve never seen anything like this before.**

 

 

**They will feast on your flesh and make you just like them.**

 

 

**The Eaten-Alive…**

 

 

**It took you a year to lose a life, and now I will repay you loss for loss.**

 

 

For a moment, neither of them could speak.

 

 

Then:

 

 

‘We have to tell Bronwyn and Birdy’.

 

 

On their way out, the sounds of something creaking pervaded the still atmosphere.

 

‘W-what was that?’

 

‘Probably…nothing…’

 

Tegan gave her a reassuring grin that seemed a bit forced.

 

 

A new doorway had opened to the right of the study.

 

 

‘Do we dare to go in there!?’

 

‘…Maybe it’s still the ghost’.

 

 

_That doesn’t make it any better!_

 

 

In an antechamber throughout a seemingly endless chain, they found an official document where someone named ‘Mrs. Washington’, had been peacefully negotiating with a Native American tribe…

 

‘I guess they owned this place beforehand?’ Tegan shrugged.

 

The memory of that awful note was still ingrained in her mind.

 

‘Anything on the back of this one?’

 

‘Let’s see…’

 

A reminder explaining that someone had been near the generator!

 

Tegan paled.

 

‘I sent Chala and Birdy out that way earlier…!’

 

Aqua’s heart nearly stopped in her chest.

 

‘What!?’

 

‘If I’d known some creep had lurked around there in the past, I _swear_ I would’ve told them about it!

_Honest!!'_

 

 

At the end of it all, was a plain, wooden door.

 

Tegan turned the knob and opened it, turning this new wrinkle over in her mind.

 

‘You know…at the party last year…’

 

Aqua hurried to keep up with her!

 

‘Yeah?’

 

‘…I think I saw Alice and Jas talking about…some guy with a machete’.

 

She struggled to recall the details in full.

 

‘Maybe…she’d seen him out a window or something?

Before the Mystic fiasco had happened…’

 

‘You think the guy in the note could be the same as that guy from way back when!?’

 

‘I don’t know…and that’s what worries me’.

 

 

Something very unpleasant suddenly occurred to Aqua:

 

 

‘You don’t think that was _him_ under the floorboards back there!?’

 

 

Tegan went even paler than a specter.

 

‘Oh no…and I opened that vent and everything…!’

 

 

She had a second epiphany:

 

 

‘What if those noises Cinder and I heard weren’t just you wheeling around that man-made statue that time we were in the basement?

 

What if _he_ was down there, too!?’

 

 

‘And…’ Tegan's voice was wobbling with fright ‘I could’ve walked past him several times without knowing-!!’

 

 

‘Us, too’.

 

Her own voice was growing quieter.

 

 

With pure, unadulterated horror!

 

 

RATTLE, RATTLE-

 

 

_aaAAAhhhHHH-_

 

 

‘Huh!?’

 

Tegan spun on her heel at the sounds of the double-doors trying to swing themselves open in vain!

 

‘Is that-!?’

 

Before Aqua could say anything about anything, she’d bashed them open wide, and raced out into the unknown yelling ‘Bronwyn… _BRONWYN-!!’_

 

’N-NOO!!’

 

Soon, her cries, too, were added to the mele of chaos!

 

‘Tegan!?

 

TEGAN!!’

 

 

Fearing the worst, Aqua pulled on the door handles, intending to go out after her-

 

 

Only to find that they wouldn’t budge an inch.

 

 

Wha-!?

 

‘TEGAN!?’

 

 

_I’m not strong at all, you realize that?_

 

_What are you trying to make me do, bash the doors down with my bare hands!?_

 

 

Apparently, so.

 

 

Rushing back to the antechamber they'd explored with _massive_ adrenaline surging through her veins, she bodily-lifted the entire bureau from the ground, hustled it back to the Impenetrable Gates, and threw it with every fiber of strength she possessed!!

 

 

CRAAAASHH!!

 

 

It knocked the doors inward with the loudest impact ever known to man, and she ran through the now-cleared entryway.

 

Pain in all her arm muscles notwithstanding.

 

 

‘Tegan!

 

Tegaan!!

 

YOU’D BETTER NOT BE DEAD-!!’

 

 

A meaty fist connected with her face

 

 

Tegan was out cold.

 

 

Lying on the floor,

 

Like a helpless doll.

 

 

A hand clad in silver gauntlets latched firmly around her limp wrists, and dragged her away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't know if the dresser thing was a bit much, or not.
> 
>  
> 
> On a side-note, saw the Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, today, and it was every bit as amazing as the first!
> 
> I would recommend in a heart-beat!! 
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. In Hour 4, the choices begin...


	11. Memoriam

The Knight in Shining Armor stood at the landing of the grand staircase, brooding.

 

_What am I doing this for?_

 

A flash of a lovely woman, the light of his life…

 

_Yes._

 

_I **see.**_

 

 

Lighting a match, he lit one candle for the darned, placed neatly upon a cross-piece.

 

_For you..._

 

 

Should it truly end this way.


	12. Start Of Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Chala.

Oh no!

 

Not Birdy…!!

 

So well-liked throughout the fandom, and so sweet…

 

 

 

Chala, you have some choices to make.

 

 

 

Remember that every single thing you do next counts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for the marathon of your life.


	13. Hour 4: Save Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chala, this is all you!!

_Where'd she go!?_

 

Snatching a rifle from where it was mounted on the wall, Chala leaped through the gap in the now-busted window, heart thumping a thousand miles a minute.

 

 

_I **have** to save her!_

 

_I have to!!_

 

 

Racing through the snow as fast as humanly possible, she went until she was met with a choice of two routes:

 

 

 

 

 

**A risky shortcut _OR_   A safe path**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Which will it be, Chala? These next few choices are all yours...


	14. Save Her-Pursuit!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chala chose the risky path.

_There’s no time to lose!_

 

_I have to get Birdy to safety NOW!!_

 

 

‘HOLD ON, I’M COMING!!!!’

 

 

She swerved onto the left-hand path, and gulped.

 

 

A line of slick barrels floated in a narrow river, creating a man-made bridge that was able to be successfully crossed-

 

 

If her balance was en pointe, that is…

 

 

 

 

**CLING _OR_ SLIP?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's no going back, now...


	15. Save Her: Barrels, 1st

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good choice.

The second barrel had been trapped at an angle between the bank and the constant flow.

 

 

_I **know** I can do this._

 

_I **know** I can!_

 

 

So saying, she crept carefully over the first piece of the makeshift bridge, and took a tiny leap of faith!

 

 

CLUNK!!

 

 

She made it.

 

 

**CLING _OR_    SLIP?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you do it again?


	16. Save Her: Barrels, 2nd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh...

 

Fortunately, the last barrel wasn’t in such a strange position; she could easily hop onto it if she just didn’t-

 

 

Slip.

 

 

‘Ahh-!’

 

 

SPLASH!!

 

 

Landing in the knee-deep river, Chala cursed as a frigid cold seeped into her pant-legs.

 

 

_S*!_

 

**_S*!!_ **

 

 

Grasping the edge of the next (and last) piece of bridge, she somehow managed to haul herself up and onto the wet surface.

 

 

_Just…one more…and then…!_

 

 

 

CLING  OR  SLIP?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Careful...


	17. Save Her: Barrels, 3rd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Congrats! You've made it past Level 1.

The echo of her heart thumping in her ears, Chala lifted herself into a standing position, legs wobbling like crazy.

 

 

_One final jump-!!_

 

 

She scrambled across the slick surface of the barrel, and took a flying leap onto the other side!

 

 

_Nailed it!_

 

 

 

‘BIRD!!!

 

CAN YOU HEAR ME!?’

 

 

 

When she got no reply, Chala pushed away her fear of the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not over. Just wait and see...


	18. Where Are You!?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I told you it wasn't over.

Speeding up a large hill, the would-be rescuer was going so fast, that she almost ran herself right off a cliff!

 

 

_Wh-!?_

 

 

She flailed at its very edge for a good couple minutes before gravity decided to do her a favor.

 

With a sob of relief she sank back upon her heels.

 

 

_Oh, thank God…_

 

 

 

Warily, she dropped to a kneeling posture, and strained her eyes for any signs of Birdy and her kidnapper.

 

 

 

_D*!_

 

 

_Can’t spot them from here…_

 

 

 

She was going to have to resort to the gun wasn’t she?

 

 

 

_Like I’ve ever shot one before…_

 

 

 

Hoisting it up onto her shoulder regardless, she peered desperately through the finder-

 

 

 

To the right of a humongous pine was _Bird._

 

 

Alive...but not okay.

 

 

Not even close.

 

 

She could hear her panicked breaths and the frantic scuffling sounds her terrified limbs made in the snow.

 

She could see that she was dirtied, bloodied, and bruised.

 

And that half her clothes had been ripped to shreds by the harsh, and unforgiving route...

 

 

‘CHALAAA-!!  
  
HEEEELLLLPPP!!!!’

 

 

‘BIRDY!!

I’M HERE!!!’

 

 

‘WHERE!?’

 

 

The frightened girl looked all about her, yet was unable to make eye contact.

 

 

‘I DON’T SEE YOU ANYWHERE!!!’

 

 

Her efforts to get the heck away became even more frenzied as she looked over her shoulder.

 

‘No…NOOO-!!’

 

Screaming, she was insta-dragged away!!

 

 

‘BIIIRRDD!!!’

 

 

 

Horrified, and overwhelmed with worry for her friend, Chala hastily got up.

 

 

_I have to get down there!_

_And fast!!_

 

 

 

GO AROUNDOR JUMP DOWN.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well?
> 
> What'll it be?


	19. Cliff Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for more accuracies!!

There really were no ‘buts’ about it.

 

 

She was yeeting herself off of that cliff, and she was doing it _right_ now-!!

 

 

 

_Fwoosh!!_

 

 

_Ohhh sss***-!!!_

 

 

 

She slid down its craggy face before she could up and change her mind.

 

 

_Did **not** realize it was that high up, ahhhh…!!!_

 

 

If this kept up, she would hit the ground with a splat!!

 

 

Searching for a good place to catch herself, Chala picked-out a long, spindly branch…

 

 

 

**HIT  ORMISS?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I never miss?
> 
>  
> 
> #noideawhatthatmeans.
> 
>  
> 
> (Once again, your dexterity is put to the test).


	20. Cliff Jump: Hit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nice one!

She got lucky-

 

Her fingers clenched onto its knobbly surface…and held!

 

 

With a ferocious jerk, her freefall had been stopped.

 

 

Wide eyes scanned the shadowed ground below.

 

 

_D*…_

 

 

Gathering up her courage, she let go and landed perfectly on both feet.

 

 

‘BIRDY!!

 

YOU STILL OUT THERE!?’

 

 

Scooping up the weapon from where it had smacked off the cliff face, she sped down the ledge where she’d last seen Bird!

 

 

However, a fallen tree loomed overhead…

 

 

 

**DUCK _OR_ DON’T?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still got a ways to go.


	21. Cliff Jump: Trees, Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still going on strong...

_!!??_

 

Realizing that she would be in dire straits if she allowed herself to hit that mother while careening through the woods at top speed, she hurriedly ducked underneath.

 

 

_Phew…Can’t believe I almost missed that!!_

 

 

Soon, another fallen tree appeared in her path, only this one wasn’t hanging above her head like a ticking bomb.

 

 

No, this one was set smack in the way!

 

 

_G*d*, I’ve gotta jump that thing!?_

 

 

**LEAP  OR  KEEP RUNNING?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep on moving.


	22. Cliff Jump: Trees, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good choice.

She leaped over it like it was nothing but air!

 

 

_Yes!_

 

_One step closer to-_

 

 

No sooner had she thought that than a fallen tree suspended perfectly overhead appeared once more.

 

 

_Seriously!?_

 

 

**DUCKORDON’T?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep on as you are, and you just might do it.


	23. Cliff Jump: Trees, Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still going on strong, I see.

Once again, she was forced to duck.

 

The rough bark of the fallen tree brushed her head as she did so, and she shuddered.

 

 

_If I’d missed that…_

 

 

When she straightened up on the other side, she saw another one placed directly in her path.

 

 

_Okay_ , she fumed, _If I didn’t know better, I would say that somebody’s setting all this up just to spite me!!_

 

 

 

**LEAPORKEEP RUNNING?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think you can make another leap of faith?


	24. Cliff Jump: Trees, Pt. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At this rate, you just might do it.

Chala hopped the last log with ease.

 

 

_Finally!_

_No more_ _obstac-!!_

 

 

She almost missed the sheer cliff in the darkness.

 

 

_Slowdownslowdownslowdown-_

 

 

She did.

 

**_Barely._ **

 

 

Teetering at the very edge, she searched for a way down.

 

_Looks like I could...take a flying leap onto that ledge across from me...or climb down onto that other ledge..._

 

 

 

**JUMP  OR  SHIMMY?**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo!!
> 
> Go Chala!!!!


	25. For Best Friends, Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting closer, now...

Stepping back a few paces, Chala broke into a sudden run!

 

 

_Birdy, I'm coming!!_

 

 

Her feet lifted off the edge, and she was borne through the air like a...well...like a bird.

 

  

 

**MAKE IT  OR  FALL?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this seems ridiculously redundant, but just wait for it. The payoff will be glorious.


	26. For Best Friends, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! I forgot a QTE last chapter, so uh...here's the same thing again.

As soon as her boots hit the snow-covered rock with a  _clumph_ , her eyes picked out a second, slightly-farther ledge.

 

_One more, and I'll **finally** be caught up..._

 

_I hope._

 

 

**MAKE IT  OR  FALL?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there, though.


	27. For Best Friends, Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jumpin' on over that ledge!

Without even stopping to think about it, she jumped again!-

 

And landed it  _perfectly._

  

Too busy being frantic about Birdy to care about the magnificent streak of pure luck she was experiencing, Chala bulldozed up the pathway like a woman on a mission!!

 

 

"BIRDY, _SAY_ SOMETHING!!??"

 

 

Skidding up to the very edge, she could see the old bones of some sort of structure in the distance.

 

 

Immediately in front of her were two routes:

 

A curving path to the left, and a more risky, more downhill one to the right.

 

 

**PATH  OR  INCLINE?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you see the mine? It's almost done.


	28. For Best Friends: Cliff Slide, Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Close, but not quite.

Again, there was simply no hesitation, whatsoever!

 

She stepped off the edge of the incline-

 

 

And promptly thudded onto her back.

 

 

"Ow-!!"

 

 

The snow underneath was soft, and very delicate.

 

 

 

Not to mention _dangerously_  slippery.

 

 

 

"WHOAHH-!!"

 

 

 

As the forces of gravity began to relentlessly drag her down the incline, she spotted a branch poking up and out of the powder-

 

 

**GRAB IT  OR  MISS IT?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last QTE I swear!!


	29. For Best Friends, Cliffside Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch # 2

Chala's fingers searched frantically for the rough bark, grasped it for all of three seconds, and actually had a second to breathe with relief.

 

 

Then it cracked.

 

 

_!!??_

 

 

Sliding all over again, she was flipped over onto her stomach just as she painfully bumped over a rocky ledge.

 

 

_I've gotta-!!_

 

 

Her arm reached for its rapidly-disappearing edge...

 

 

**GRAB  OR  MISS?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More stuff to grab.


	30. For Best Friends: Cliffside, Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think you were supposed to grab that one, but it's fine.

She missed it.

 

Her fingers were clawing at anything  _but_ that, and she plummeted a good two feet or so before painfully slamming to the ground.

 

On her _back_.

 

 

_G*d*t...!!_

 

_I thought that rock was gonna kill me!_

 

 

Apparently, it wasn't.

 

 

Gingerly sitting up, she picked out a large gap in the wooden platform to her right.

 

 

_Ohhhkay, this is gonna s*k-_

 

 

She crawled over to the edge, grasped it firmly with both hands, and swung herself over.

 

 

_THUD!!_

 

 

 

Her boots hit soft powder, yet she still stumbled.

 

 

Her head felt like a knife had been stabbed into her brain.

 

 

" _CHALAAA!!"_

 

_"BIRDY!?"_

 

 

 

The volume of her own voice made her vision spin, but she ignored it, and _raced_ over to a pair of partially-cracked open doors...

 

 

_SLAM!_

 

 

Blown back by the tremendous force, Chala fell to the ground!

 

 

_D*n you, you...b*!!!_

 

 

 

She dragged herself back to her feet, and threw the doors open once more.

 

 

" _BIRDY!!"_

 

 

_"CHALA, I THINK I'M GONNA-!!"_

 

 

Her heart leaped into her throat and stayed there.

 

 

" _DON'T WORRY, I'M COMING!!!!!"_

 

 

_"HURRY-!!"_

 

 

Her words were cut off by a garbled scream!

 

 

" _BIRDY!!??"_

 

 

Taking the old staircase two steps at a time, she swept a yellow totem up off the ground and shoved it in her jacket for later.

 

 

_Please be okay...Please be okay!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the end of the road.


	31. Pyrrhic Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are you sure you can face the truth?

Chala sped down a tunnel much like the one from their short-lived venture in the mines.

 

 

If she weren’t busy fearing the worst, she would wonder how deep it went.

 

 

 

“BIRDY!?”

 

 

There was no answer, this time.

 

 

“BIRDY!!”

 

 

 

Pounding into a wide chamber littered with empty carts, barrels, and other sorts of debris, her eyes flitted wildly from one side to the other.

 

 

 

“WHERE ARE YOU!!??”

 

 

 

That’s when she saw the elevator.

 

 

 

Splayed out on its dirty platform was a _heavily_ -battered Bird.

 

 

“-!!”

 

 

Rushing to the injured writer’s side, she was struck with the sudden fear that after all that hard work and effort…

 

 

 

_No, you can’t be dead._

_You can’t be!!_

 

 

“Bird…?”

 

 

She groaned at her touch, eyes fluttering.

 

 

“Oh Thank _God_ …!”

 

 

“Ch-a…la…?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me”.

 

“He-elp…me?”

 

 

A feeble hand tried to grasp the edge of her coat.

 

 

Chala swallowed a decent-sized lump.

 

 

 

“Do you even have to ask?”

 

 

 

Just when she was about to drape an arm over the girl’s bruised shoulder-

 

 

 

_KLA-KLANG-_

 

_FWOOOOSSSHH-!!_

 

 

 

“BIRDY-!!”

 

 

The elevator dropped into the abyss-!

 

 

“NO!”

 

 

Chala lunged for the falling figure, and _just_ missed her…

 

 

“NOOO, BIRRRDD!!!”

 

 

 

She never heard it hit bottom.

 

 

 

_No-!!_

 

 

 

A strange skittering noise put her nerves on edge.

 

 

 

_What was that!?_

 

 

 

Hoisting up the rifle, she pointed it at the rumbling darkness.

 

 

_Where is it, what is it-?_

 

 

She thought she could see…was that a…person behind that wall?

 

 

_Do I dare shoot...?_

 

 

She’d never used a gun before, so…

 

 

_…They’re not hurting me…_

 

 

She let it slump down.

 

 

They still did nothing.

 

 

 

_Okay then…_

 

Shooting one last look behind her, Chala ran up a catwalk to her left.

 

 

Like _H*_ she was going to give up on Birdy now!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More little choices coming up!!
> 
>  
> 
> (YAY!!! YOU DID IIIT!!!!!)


	32. Hour 4: Save Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gave this chapter a complete overhaul.
> 
>  
> 
> WARNING: Next chapter is very cruel.

Thumping up a set of stairs, she hurried onto a platform which, unfortunately, appeared to be missing most of its other half.

 

 

_...You made it this far._

 

   

 She leapt off the edge-

 

 

Her boots thumped firmly down on the opposite side. 

 

 

_Made it._

 

 

 

Directly in front of her, the side of an elevator shaft loomed.

 

 

_Time to climb._

 

 

Taking the 'quick' approach, she ascended up the right corner.

 

 

Handholds were few and far between, but she made do regardless.

 

 

_My muscles are going to hate me tomorrow._

 

 

Finally, there came a point where she had to jump.

 

 

"Okay...", she breathed, "Here we go-!"

 

Pushing up with all the strength she had left, her fingers closed around the top edges of a large metal plate.

 

 

Which promptly broke off.

 

 

"-!!"

 

It was a miracle she was able to catch a wooden cross-piece before she fell all the way back...

 

 

"Okay, okay-!"

 

 

 

At the highest point of the structure, she was forced to turn around on a narrow ledge.

 

 

_Nowhere to go but down._

 

 

A platform on the far side was her intended target, and as she leapt the interminable distance between it and herself-

 

_I **swear** if I miss this-!!_

 

 

 Her life flashed before her eyes.

 

 

A _mili_ -second before her poor feet hit the opposite edge.

 

 

_I can't believe I made that._

 

 

 

Taking a moment to get her bearings, Chala looked up to see a shady figure in a dark, ragged coat stalking off through an opening.

 

 

Knowing better than to attract their attention, she cautiously followed along...

 

 

Whoever it was jumped into a narrow pit at the end of a sequence of tunnels, and she hurried to follow.

 

 

_Aw, s*!_

 

 

A shutter happened to be descending right when she wanted to get to where they were!

 

 

_I'll have to be quick-_

 

 

Breaking into a flat-out run, she was  _just_ able to slip through the gap.

 

 

_Phew._

_Man, if my friends could see me right now, they would call me the sickest ninja ever!_

 

 

Dropping down to the lower level the stranger had once been, Chala scooped up an old lamp that had been left by the side of the road, and lit it with a match.

 

 

_There._

_Now I'll be able to see in this crazy place..._

 

 

Rushing out a side tunnel, she was  _immediately_ slapped in the face by an intense gale of snow.

 

_What the-!?_

 

The calming cascade of snowflakes from her earlier walk with Bird had transformed into a full-blown blizzard!

 

_Oh for-!!_

Shielding her eyes from the relentless onslaught, the girl shuffled forward as much as she could.

 

_This is so weird...I can barely see two feet in front of my face!_

 

 

Eventually, the shadowed outline of buildings began to appear through the ever-present haze.

 

 

_Is that...the lodge?_

 

No, it couldn't be-

 

 

Her mind flashed back to when Adopppp had found that poster for an old sanatorium.

 

 

_Oh no._

 

 

AquaEclipse woke up feeling the full lovely effects of a  _nasty_ black eye.

 

"Tegan?"

 

Groaning slightly as she shakily stood up, the girl attempted to blink back the waves of dizziness.

 

_D*, how hard was I hit!?_

 

"Tegan!"

 

 

No answer.

 

 

_...That creep must've stolen her-_

 

"TEGAN!!"

 

Heart thumping a mile a minute, she bustled from room to room, searching for the poor thing.

 

"WHERE ARE YOU!?"

 

She practically ripped off the handle of a nearby door in her panic-

 

A crow flew out at her!

 

"AHH-s*, s*, s*...!!"

 

Stepping over the threshold, she was immediately nailed to the spot.

 

A series of vibrant blood spots decorated the wall.

 

_She can't be dead..._

 

_That's..._

 

_That's a **lot** of blood..._

 

 

There was one suspiciously-open door to the outside, and yes, she took it.

 

_If Tegan's dying somewhere, then a trap is probably the least of my worries._

 

She went down the steps, and entered a torrential downpour of snow!

 

_Agh!_

**_Right_ ** _when I'm not ready..._

 

Hustling down the path, she eventually discovered that it split in two.

 

"TEGAN!?" she called out.

 

No response from either fork.

 

_Guess I'll take left first?_

 

 

 

"AGHHHH, NO, you-!!!"

 

A giant, mechanical-clown thing popped out of the bushes and scared her half-to-death!

 

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you...!!!"

 

Walking beyond that  ~~fuming~~ , she saw a bloody pig's head lying amongst some dead grass.

 

The pool of crimson beneath its neck stump looked  _pretty_ d* fresh.

 

_Ugh, this is..._

 

What kind of nut would set up such creepy stuff?

 

 

Off to the left, she found a black totem.

 

"Huh".

 

Picking it up, she heard an unearthly scream, and the sound of leather boots kicking at some unseen thing.

 

"Yeesh.

I now regret all my life choices".

 

 

Down the right-hand path was a big, wooden house/glorified cabin.

 

 

That door was  _also_ open wide.

 

 

"Oh, here we go..."

 

 

It was full of tools.

 

_So_ many tools.

 

_Ew, it's like something out of a horror movie-_

 

 

Crying.

 

 

**_From somewhere nearby!!_ **

 

 

"Tegan!?"

 

 

Running toward the source of the sound, she was suddenly dive-bombed by a falling birdcage!

 

"Wah-!"

 

She threw her arms up to protect herself, and winced as it bounced painfully off of her elbow.

 

 

"...Aqua...?"

 

 

As she was slowly recovering from the phantom drop, Tegan's broken tones reached her ears.

 

 

"Tegan?"

 

 

She began to continue her hazardous trek.

 

 

"I'm coming, don't worry..."

 

 

Ducking by something that strongly resembled a plastic sheet with yuck all over it, a light flashed into her eyes, temporarily blinding her.

 

"Ah-!!"

 

When it cleared, a horrific sight was revealed.

 

 

Tegan and Brownwyn, chained to a wooden board behind a chain-linked partition.

 

 

At the end of two paths for a bloody saw blade to travel.

 

 

"Oh my God..."

 

 

The Host caught sight of her first.

 

"AQUA!!"

 

"Tegan!"

 

She glanced at her fellow captive.

 

"What's up with B.?"

 

"I-I don't know!"

 

Tegan shook her head.

 

"I've been trying and trying to get her to wake up, but she won't-!!"

 

 

**HELLO, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING ME.**

 

"WHO IS THAT!?"

 

She began to kick at the sleeper's legs.

 

"WAKE UP,  _WAKE UP_ BRONWYN-!!"

 

The latter finally stirred.

 

"Mm, wha?"

**TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO CONDUCT A LITTLE EXPERIMENT.**

 

Aqua looked frantically for the source of the Demonic speaker.

 

_Where is he!?_

 

**A LITTLE SORT OF TEST.**

 

She yanked and twisted the handle of the door keeping her from them in a desperate bid to set them free!

 

"Come on, come on...!"

 

**NOW FOR THIS EXPERIMENT, WE'LL NEED THE COOPERATION OF OUR TWO TEST SUBJECTS...Canyoufeelanything AND Willowcat88...**

 

"...Where am I?"

 

Bronwyn's eyes were unfocused.

 

"What happened?"

 

"We got caught by that monster-!!"

 

**BUT WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE THAN ONE BRAVE PARTICIPANT TO HELP DECIDE...WHICH SUBJECT WILL LIVE, AND WHICH WILL DIE.**

 

_"DIE!?"_

 

"NOO-!!"

 

Tegan's tears began to flow down her cheeks.

 

**PLEASE.**

 

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE, AQUA HELP-!!"

 

Bronwyn started to pull and yank at her restraints, clearly having been terrified into lucidity.

 

" _AQUA,_ I swearto God-!!"

 

**PLEASE, PLEASE! EVERYONE CALM DOWN, IT'S ALL VERY SIMPLE.**

 

**AquaEclipse.**

 

The horrified author ceased her futile struggling.

 

**YOU WILL FIND A LEVER PLACED DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU.**

 

**ALL YOU HAVE TO DO...**

 

 

**IS CHOOSE WHO YOU WILL SAVE.**

 

 

At that, Tegan lost it:

 

"NO, NO!!

You can't...you can't...!!!

 

PLEASE, not me!!!"

 

 

The expression on Bronwyn's face was the very  _picture_ of defiance-fueled fear.

 

"You're not gonna do it.

I  _know_ you're not gonna do it, I barely know you, and I  _know_ you aren't gonna kill us-"

 

 

"I...I..."

 

She could see it.

 

The lever...

 

To the left was a mugshot of Tegan.

 

To the right...a mugshot of Bronwyn.

 

"I don't wanna do this".

 

 

The jagged saw-blade whirred to life.

 

 

**_rrrrrRRRRRRR...._ **

 

 

"THIS IS WRONG THIS IS WRONG THIS IS  _WRONG!!"_

 

_"Hey now!! HEY!!"_

 

_" Don't do this_ **_please_ ** _Aqua-"_

 

_"D*t, gotta be some way out-"_

 

 

"I DON'T WANNA DO THIS!!"

 

 

 

**TEGAN  OR  BRONWYN?**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chala, you might now be permanently stuck as Mike.
> 
> Tegan and Bronwyn, I am so sorry.


	33. Casualty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long hiatus, a subject has finally been chosen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idon'twannaIdon'twannaIdon'twanna

_What do I do what do I do what do I do-!!????_

 

 

 

_I don’t want to kill my friends…_

 

 

 

 

**I don’t want to kill my friends!**

 

 

 

 

“WHY!?

 

Why can’t I just not pick…”

 

 

 

 

Heart hammering wildly in her chest, she closed her eyes, thrust out a finger, and…

 

 

 

Pointed randomly.

 

 

 

 

Horrified sobbing drowned out the chosen party’s gasp of pure fear-

 

 

 

 

 

She opened them.

 

 

 

 

 

Tegan was on the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her index was angled to t **he right**.

 

 

 

 

 

“No…no… _wait-_!”

 

 

 

“Please, PLEEEASE don’t kill her-!!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I-I-!!”

 

 

 

 

Panicking.

 

 

 

She was **PANICKING-**

 

 

 

 

 

Her hands hovered over the lever that would condemn Bronwyn to the most hideous death imaginable-

 

 

 

 

 

**Click!**

 

 

 

The tracks that resolutely moved the saw upon its miserable path swapped from a straight-shot, to a slithering snake-curve.

 

 

 

A life-ending circuit to the right.

 

 

 

 

“AQUA-!!”

 

 

 

“I DIDN’T DO IT-”

 

 

 

Tegan’s red-rimmed eyes smacked of disbelief.

 

 

 

 

“But…but-!!”

 

 

 

 

 

“SOMEBODY G **ET ME OUT OF HERE!!!** ” Bronwyn shouted, straining.

 

 

“Somebody-!”

 

 

 

**I see.**

 

**So.**

 

 

**You have chosen to save Willowcat88.**

 

 

 

 

**Canyoufeelanything…**

 

 

 

 

**Prepare to die.**

 

 

 

 

“No, **NO** , stop, **STOP** , please-!!”

 

 

 

 

The blade was spinning fast enough to eject a crackling halo of sparks!

 

 

 

 

 

Tegan struggled to get free, herself, torn between wanting to look and SAVE HER, and wanting to not LOOK and see her _die_ , oh **GOD….**

 

 

 

 

 

It came closer…and closer…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bronwyn could almost ** _feel_** those teeth eating into her mid-section.

 

 

 

“Help, **HELP!!**

 

**SOMEBODY, ANYBODY-“**

 

 

 

R-

 

 

 

 

 

Pain racked her waist, churning her insides into a frenzied whirlpool of fear and shocked betrayal-

 

 

 

 

**“aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”**

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

 

Aqua couldn’t even look.

 

 

Just hid her face behind her hands as the shrill scream of death echoed off of the corrugated walls-

 

 

 

 

Until the saw blade’s motions quieted, and the final, blood-choked rattles had ceased.

 

 

 

 

 

Tegan was terrifyingly quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

_Squeak-!!_

 

 

 

 

The meshed door swung open with an unholy noise that did nothing to lighten the mood.

 

 

 

 

Hands trembling, vision blurring with shell-shocked tears, the Writer stumbled into the room.

 

 

Somehow, she found the latch to the chains holding the traumatized remaining aloft, and she flopped into her arms, practically a silent shell of her former self.

 

 

 

A silent shell that began to shake with quiet, devastated sobs…

 

 

 

 

And together.

 

 

 

 

 

The two stumbled out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to watch it in real time, too, ugh...I just can't even.


	34. Connecting Parties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news spreads.

 Adopppp was now a sworn vegetarian!

 

 

Let it be known.

 

 

 

…Well, put a plate of steaming bacon in front of him, and he would probably change his mind in a heartbeat, but still!!

 

 

 

 

That piggy head…

 

 

 

He could see it burnt into the back of his retinas.

 

 

 

 

Even though they had to be halfway to the lodge by now-

 

 

 

 

 

A pair of bedraggled teens loped out of the shadows, one supporting the other…

 

 

 

One covered in **blood**.

 

 

 

 

“Oh my God, what happened to you guys!?”

 

 

 

Leah’s mouth had fallen open into a perfect ‘o’-shape.

 

 

 

 

“We-we-“

 

 

 

 

It was Aqua and Tegan.

 

 

 

 

The former’s eyes had a firm sheen of near-crystalized tears, while the latter just violently shook her head, silent droplets freezing down her cheeks.

 

 

 

She was also the one to be dyed bright-red.

 

 

 

 

“Bronwyn’s dead…”

 

 

 

 

She sounded so broken that he was hit with the overwhelmingly overwhelming urge to scoop her up into an INCREDIBLY huge hug.

 

 

 

“Dead!?”

 

 

“—“

 

 

“I…I…there was this creep, and he wanted to make me choose, and I didn’t want to, and then I kind-of did, but I DIDN’T because that stupid thing moved on its own-!!”

 

 

 

It was like a dam had exploded!

 

 

 

“And it cut her in half and there was nothing I could do, and then the door opened-“

 

 

 

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

 

 

 

 

Leah held out a hand to halt her frenzied explanation in a jiffy.

 

 

 

“Let’s get you two back to the lodge, and then we can talk about that.

 

You guys look like you’ve been through H*!”

 

 

 

Aqua swallowed a huge lump as Tegan began to quiver all over again.

 

 

 

“-Sure.

 

But..."

 

 

 

She sent a horrified glance over her shoulder.

 

 

 

_ Toward the scene of Horrible Death, probs... _

 

 

 

 

 

"Are we really just going to leave her corpse out there...alone?"

 

 

 

 

Leah bit her lip.

 

 

 

 

"For now...

 

 

 

 

 

It might be better for everybody if we did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man...I spent the rest of the afternoon mentally collapsed after that last...one...so you're getting this now.


	35. [Interlude*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Complications.

_No…_

 

 

**_No!_ **

 

 

 

The terrified girl shakily stepped away from the recently-maimed corpse.

 

Her hands had gone to her mouth partly out of pure, unadulterated fear, and partly out of a desire to keep herself from f*ing vomiting all over…

 

 

 

 

Everything about this was wrong.

 

 

 

 

Everything about this was _so_ wrong!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

_First you steal my identity, and now you destroy-_

 

 

 

 

 

 

She high-tailed it out of there, mind spinning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If she didn’t win this…

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

The corpse twitched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think this means? (:


	36. Hour 5: Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chala has an unexpected adventure, and the Rescue Party finds a rather nasty surprise...

Chala peeked over the large, stone wall separating her from her target:

 

 

A figure swaddled all in black, stalking up to a metal plate.

 

 

 

**_Two fr*n wolves at his side!_ **

 

 

 

_How in the world did he manage to tame them?_

 

 

_…And how in the h* am I supposed to catch up if they keep hanging around!?_

 

 

 

 

Ducking below the edge, she waited for his loud, clomping footsteps to disappear out of sight before even _daring_ to make a move.

 

 

 

 

_Okay…here we go!_

 

 

 

 

Planting one hand firmly upon the snow-covered barrier, she hoisted herself up and over-

 

 

 

 

Her feet crumpled as she hit the earth, and she wound up sitting flat on her butt.

 

 

 

 

 

_Ugh…I guess I should’ve expected that after running around like a maniac all night…_

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painfully getting up, Chala skirted around the massive structure, and trekked through an open courtyard.

 

 

_D*…_

 

 

 

It was getting cold enough that the water spouts of a nearby fountain had completely frozen over!

 

 

 

 

_Better make this quick._

 

 

 

 

 

Near the front gates, she discovered a white totem…one that showed Adopppp, this time.

 

 

 

Something was banging away at a metal door, while he shone a flashlight around in confusion.

 

 

 

 

_…Are any of these visions going to come true!?_

 

_And why am **I** the only one finding these things, anyway…!?_

 

 

 

 

Too bad she didn’t have the answers to either of those.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An eerie howl echoed through the air, and she shivered.

 

 

 

A reminder that certain doom would await her if she got noticed…

 

 

 

 

_Come on, fate, quit it!_

 

_I already **know** I’m in trouble…_

 

 

 

 

She didn’t bother to try the doorknob because it was probably locked, and, anyway, there was a 50-50 chance That Creep had gone in there.

 

 

 

 

So she ended up removing a peculiarly-placed metallic plate-

 

 

Revealing an empty basement window-the safer way in.

 

 

 

 

Once again, she had to do the Sit-Down Jump.

 

 

 

This one she landed.

 

 

 

 

Tingles of agonized nerves crackling up her ankles…

 

 

 

 

 

_If I don’t break something by the end of this, it’ll be a miracle._

 

 

 

 

 

It was as if the devastation of the mine had followed her there.

 

 

Fallen rocks and other debris were everywhere, and the lighting was practically non-existent.

 

 

 

Following a path through a cracked mesh screen-

 

 

 

 

She found another totem.

 

 

 

 

Black.

 

 

 

 

 

**Not.**

 

**Good.**

 

 

 

 

 

In it, she recoiled in horror as someone’s face was unceremoniously bashed in!

 

 

 

 

 

_I-_

 

 

_Who even was that!?_

 

 

 

 

 

A wall greeted her at the very end of the passage.

 

 

 

 

_…Well s*._

 

_Guess I’ve got to backtrack now..._

 

 

 

 

 

Finding herself within the main ‘room’ once more, she looked up, saw the giant hole in the floor-

 

 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what to do next.

 

 

 

 

There was a convenient barrel to push, nearby.

 

 

 

 

She had to really put her back into it-

 

 

 

 

“Ungh…come on…!”

 

 

 

 

_Sccrraaaaappppeeeee…._

 

 

 

 

THUNK

 

 

 

 

 

Climbing on top of it, she reached up, and hurriedly did a scan of what lay above.

 

 

 

 

 

A whole lot of nothing.

 

 

 

Awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

She hauled herself up and over, muscles _screaming_ for her to rest-

 

 

Pushed the exhaustion aside because if she crashed down here, she was **dead**.

 

 

 

 

Walked across a narrow bridge of beams, and stepped upon a cart this time, hands being scraped raw against the granite edges of the even larger hole in the floor.

 

 

 

_Oh wow._

 

_The years have not been kind…_

 

 

 

Although slightly less decrepit than its underbelly, the ruin was still quite substantial.

 

 

 

 

 

_What, did a hurricane hit this place or something?_

 

 

 

 

 

...She wouldn’t have been surprised if that were so.

 

 

 

 

 

The peephole in the massive door at the end of the admittance area provided fair warning:

 

 

That person and his two pets were inside.

 

 

 

As she watched, he threw them a bone, and they stalked off to amuse themselves.

 

 

 

 

Even if she’d wanted to, she wouldn’t have been able to get in.

 

 

 

 

Not if the keycard reader glowing a thin red had any meaning…

 

 

 

 

 

_After the day I’ve had, I’m honestly unfazed by this kind of crap at this point._

 

 

 

 

 

Back-tracking, she found a piece of paper resting upon a random desk in the corner:

 

 

Administration Notes.

 

 

 

 

_-Bring all miners into Ward 1 until all the beds are full._

 

 

_Make sure that they receive proper care, and DO NOT let the press in the psych area for interviews at any cost!_

 

 

 

 

 

…Wonder why not.

 

 

 

 

Going through a lofty doorway with the word ‘ADMIN’ emblazoned upon the sign, her heart leapt at the sight of a safe-

 

 

A piece of wood lay on the ground in front of it.

 

 

 

Someone had obviously tried (and failed) to get in before.

 

 

 

 

_Today is the day that you have met your match._

 

 

 

 

 

Levering it between the edge and the hard place…it popped out.

 

 

 

_Aw, what?_

 

 

 

Trying again…

 

 

 

 

The device snapped in half, showering the skin of her hands with splinters-

 

 

 

 

 

But the door opened wide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadly, there was no keycard.

 

 

Only a handful of clock-in cards…thirty of them, to be exact.

 

 

 

 

_Geez…what the hey left them like this?_

 

 

 

 

Screeching in the distance mingled with the sound of smashing objects.

 

 

Chala did her best to keep cool…

 

 

 

Descending a murky staircase, she heard the sounds of feathers fluttering…

 

 

 

A crow was visible through a crack in the next doorway, eating something.

 

 

 

 

**Caw!**

 

 

 

It disappeared in a flurry of indignation.

 

 

 

 

_Ohhh, that is-_

 

 

 

 

A pile of bloody remains.

 

 

From what, it was impossible to tell.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the only good thing about it was the four-inch long machete buried into the table upon which it lay.

 

 

 

 

**_Yes!_ **

 

_Extra munition power-_

 

 

 

She shoved the door wide, and grasped the grimy handle.

 

 

 

 

_Come on…!_

 

 

 

 

And pulled.

 

 

 

 

 

**SHNK-**

 

 

 

 

She almost took her nose off with the recoil power alone!

 

 

 

 

 

_But hey…at least I won’t be running around down here completely defenseless after I run out of bullets._

 

 

 

 

 

Following the route of dank corridors, and rot…her eyes were drawn to a table with a bloody arm sticking out of it!

 

 

 

_What the-!?_

 

 

 

…It was a trap.

 

 

It _had_ to be…

 

 

 

 

Since when did severed limbs flop around as if they were alive!!?

 

 

 

 

 

...On the way by, she noticed the bear trap hiding underneath, and thanked her lucky stars.

 

 

 

_How sick of a f*r would you have to be to come up with something like that?_

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first, she didn’t know what this new area was.

 

 

It looked like an empty room with two long lines of boxy shelves…

 

 

 

_Oh s*._

 

_A morgue…_

 

 

 

 

 

_Don’t tell me this is where I’m gonna find that keycard…_

 

 

 

 

 

Grabbing the handle of the first box, she groaned.

 

 

_Ohhh, gross…!_

 

 

It was a body.

 

 

It was very **dead**.

 

 

 

 

Blood decorated its chin…

 

 

 

 

As she watched in horror, a living mouse wormed its way out of the distended, _writhing_ mouth.

 

 

 

Feeling her gorge rise, it was all she could do to fish through the person’s pockets, and withdraw the object of her search.

 

 

 

 

 

_Oh my God…_

 

_This place is f*in disgusting._

 

 

 

 

Door Number Two read ‘Chapel’.

 

 

She tried sliding the keycard into the reader, and it beeped in confirmation.

 

 

 

_Awesome._

 

_Wonder if this will work on the Main Area, too…_

 

 

 

 

She didn’t see a reason why it wouldn’t...

 

 

 

 

Stray wires looped in frayed curls joined the general disrepair.

 

 

A wheelchair had been left completely abandoned in one corner, and the stairs creaked as she began to go up them-

 

 

 

 

Grrrr….

 

 

 

“!!?”

 

 

 

Turning, she was aware of a white blur hurtling straight toward her face!!

 

 

 

 

W-wolf-

 

 

 

 

Pouring on the speed, she was just barely able to stay ahead of it as she blasted around the landing-

 

 

 

 

 

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…_

 

 

 

 

 

She threw the machete in a different direction from where she was.

 

 

It didn’t fall for it.

 

 

 

 

_Oh, come on, I don’t want to have to shoot-_

 

 

 

 

Mercifully, a Way Out appeared.

 

 

 

 

Zipping through the opening like the Demons of H* were after her, she whipped the door shut, and blocked the handle with a broken beam.

 

 

 

 

“Okay…okay…”

 

 

 

 

Its angry growls could still be heard on the other side.

 

 

 

 

“You’re safe now, kid…maybe…”

 

 

 

 

To her relief, there was an exit she could take that would lead her back to Admittance.

 

 

The hitch?

 

 

 

She had to hop off a two-foot ledge.

 

 

 

_Unbelievable…I’m gonna snap something for sure…!!_

 

 

 

 

Sitting on the edge, she heaved herself off-

 

 

 

 

 

**THUD!!**

 

 

 

 

Her legs folded.

 

 

 

 

 

“Ow, ow, ow…!!”

 

 

 

 

Rubbing her bruised tailbone, the intrepid explorer gingerly rose to her poor, aching feet.

 

 

 

_Can I **not** ever do this again, please!?_

 

 

 

 

 

Limping over to the oak double-doors she’d had to take for- _ever_ to open…

 

She slid in the card and it beeped.

 

 

 

_Yes, finally, thank the-!!_

 

 

 

**Grrr-rrrawwrr-!!**

 

 

 

 

The wolf was there-

 

 

 

 

_No, what-!?_

 

 

 

 

It snapped at her, and she hurriedly lurched backwards, ankle twisting-

 

 

 

 

 

“Ah, f*!”

 

 

 

 

THUMP

 

 

 

 

_S*, I am SO done for-!!_

 

 

 

 

The wolf sat there for a moment, eyes piercing hers.

 

 

 

 

 

“H-hey boy…”

 

 

It snuffled.

 

 

“Don’t mind me…”

 

 

 

 

She crawled onto her knees, wincing.

 

 

 

 

“Am just here…investigating…tryin’ to find Bird…”

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

..

 

 

..

 

 

..

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

 

...With a calm twitch of its tail, the wolf padded away.

 

 

 

 

She exhaled.

 

 

 

 

 

The red carpet that ran throughout was soiled with a thousand dusty footsteps.

 

 

Random furniture had been placed everywhere, some overturned, some not, and a d*ning cigar box with one barely smoked at all confirmed what Chala had already known:

 

 

 

 

This was the Creep’s hideout.

 

 

 

 

_Now where does he keep his bones…?_

 

 

 

 

 

Up a small set of steps, she found an unlocked chest.

 

 

Inside…

 

 

 

 

**Jackpot.**

 

 

 

 

Tucking away two into her jacket for good measure and snatching a third, she hurried back down to the entrance.

 

 

“Hey…boy…”

 

 

 

She held it out to the wolf, and was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t rip her face off immediately.

 

 

 

“Here you go…”

 

 

 

Laying it gently upon the ground, she was rewarded with a low growl…

 

 

 

“Easy…have this, okay…?”

 

 

 

 

 

How surreal was this!?

 

 

 

 

She’d gotten close enough to almost f*in touch him-

 

 

 

 

Leaving him be, she caught sight of a large map tacked up upon the far wall.

 

 

It detailed the disappearance of the thirty miners…and that of the brief vanishing of Mystic and Alice.

 

 

 

 

 

_Still can’t believe we spent that long looking **everywhere but right under our very noses…**_

 

 

_But why does this guy have an interest in them?_

 

 

 

 

Snagging an extra coat from the nearby rack, she shrugged it on, and attempted to reach through a hole in the mesh screen directly behind it.

 

 

 

_Extra armor for the snow, and extra firepower for the journey…_

 

_Can’t pass this one up…_

 

 

 

 

But, alas!

 

 

The tiny handgun sitting firmly in the middle of the worktable was juuuust too far for her to grasp-

 

 

 

 

_D*n it…_

 

_Do I really want to alert him even more to my presence than I already have!?_

 

 

 

 

…If she took that weapon, that would be one less for him to use on her friends.

 

 

 

 

_Yup._

 

 

 

 

Wiggling the loose table leg until the whole thing collapsed with the most thunderous crash she had ever heard in her life-

 

 

The gun slipped and slid directly in front of the hole.

 

 

_Yesss…!_

 

 

 

_Now_ , she could head for the Exit.

 

 

 

 

Of course, it was locked.

 

 

_Okay…looks like it’s time to test this baby out._

 

 

 

Shaking slightly as she pulled back the safety, Chala took careful aim-

 

 

 

Pressed the trigger.

 

 

 

BANG

 

 

 

 

The lock popped off, and careened into a far-off corner as the Writer jumped.

 

 

 

_…I did it…?_

 

 

 

 

 

Walking through the next room, she had to keep repeating it to herself to make any of what she’d just done seem real.

 

 

 

At the left-hand side of a staircase, she could see something glittering-

 

 

 

Another black totem.

 

 

 

 

_Who’s death am I going to see this time?_ she thought wearily…

 

 

 

 

**Herself.**

 

 

Holding an open lighter-

 

 

 

 

BOOM

 

 

 

“-!!”

 

 

 

She recoiled, and dropped it back into the dust.

 

 

 

_Oh my God…_

 

 

 

 

Did she even have that thing!?

 

 

 

 

 

_No…but I **do** have matches._

 

 

 

 

Thoroughly disturbed, she hurried down the stairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sewers that awaited her stank to high heaven, but it could’ve been much worse than it was…

 

There could’ve been some kind of monster-

 

 

Maybe even that one that had been wrecking the joint not even twenty minutes ago.

 

 

 

Following the tunnel to its end, she was not surprised in the least to find that the way out was, indeed, once again locked.

 

 

 

 

_Time to be a sharpshooter for two more seconds..._

 

_Let’s **try** not to take a finger off, shall we?_

 

 

 

 

Grunting with exertion she heaved the bright-red barrel off to the side-

 

 

 

 

_Whoa, hold up!!_

 

 

**_Flammable liquid!!??_ **

 

 

 

 

 

-She heaved it all the way to the start of the tunnel.

 

 

 

 

 

_Nope._

 

_Am NOT burning in flames today._

 

 

 

_I don’t care **what** that totem said…_

 

 

 

 

 

She took aim, ducked her face below the collars of her double-jackets-

 

 

 

 

BAN-

 

 

 

 

THERE WERE MORE!!????

 

 

 

 

 

She WAITED for the great, fiery inferno of death from the barrels conveniently positioned just beyond the doorway-

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing.

 

 

 

 

_Oh tha **nk GOD** ….!!!!_

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Knight watched the four Writers return:

 

 

 

Leah,

 

 

Adopppp,

 

 

Tegan,

 

 

Aqua.

 

 

 

 

The first unlatched the Main Gates, the second held it open for the third and fourth, and then hurriedly followed himself.

 

 

 

 

 

With one push of a mere button…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their way out clicked shut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adopppp, lost in his own thoughts, was absolutely sure-

 

 

 

He was stony-cold on the outside, _scared-to-flippin’- **death**_ on the inside!!

 

 

 

 

He couldn’t _believe_ Bronwyn had died like that…

 

 

 

He **shuddered.**

 

 

 

 

 

Leah raised an eyebrow in question, and he just flashed her a fake smile.

 

 

 

 

If they talked about it now…

 

 

 

 

_Oh MAN…_

 

_Those poor girls would probably FREAK!_

 

 

 

 

 

Something flew out of nowhere, and smacked him in the back of the head-

 

 

“Ow!?”

 

 

“Wh-what was that!?”

 

Aqua quavered.

 

 

“I dunno…?”

 

 

 

He looked down at the ground.

 

 

A black totem…

 

 

 

Picking it up, he saw…

 

 

 

Himself!

 

Falling!!

 

 

 

Face caving in on the left side as he smacked off that same rock that had led to Alice’s death-!!!

 

 

 

 

“AAHHHH-!!”

 

 

 

Tegan leaped ten feet off of the ground!

 

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

 

 

 

Leah stopped walking.

 

 

 

“What the-!?”

 

 

 

“This totem just-“

 

 

 

 

**Oh yeah.**

 

 

 

_That sounds really crazy._

 

 

  
_-And you’re not supposed to mention death right now, remember?_

 

 

 

 

“Nevermind…I’ll tell you later”.

 

 

 

 

At the end of the path, Leah knocked on the door.

 

 

...For a long few moments, no one answered.

 

 

 

 

“Maybe they’re all taking a nap or something”, he helpfully suggested.

 

 

 

“Well…”

 

She nodded slightly.

 

 

“It IS a big house…”

 

 

 

But, much to their relief-

 

 

Someone finally appeared.

 

 

 

Light from the fire glaring off of her glasses…

 

 

Mystic.

 

 

 

 

Her fingers were trembling as she undid the bolt, and swung the door wide-

 

 

 

 

 

“Hey thanks!”

 

 

She smiled wanly and said nothing.

 

 

 

 

 

A second later, they saw _why_.

 

 

 

 

 

**DIE**

 

 

 

 

Splattered all over the walls in bright, crimson red.

 

 

 

 

 

Their luggage was open, the bags, and all of their contents piled up into one huge, teetering pyramid-

 

 

Leah’s toiletry pouch placed front-and center at its very top.

 

 

 

 

“No way…”

 

 

 

 

The whole entire thing smelled of oil.

 

 

 

 

One wrong move and…

 

 

 

 

“How did this happen!!??”

 

 

 

“I don’t know…”

 

 

 

 

She shook her head.

 

 

 

 

“We came down here after some Psycho took a potshot at Cinder and found them like this”.

 

 

 

Tegan’s head snapped up.

 

 

 

 

_“Ps-Psycho-!!??_

 

 

**_POTSHOT-!!!!”_ **

 

 

 

 

She let go of Aqua and raced in front of everybody, accidentally knocking Leah into a bush.

 

 

 

 

“…What was-!?”

 

 

 

Aqua shivered, a new tear dribbling down her cheek.

 

 

 

 

 

“You do **NOT** want to know, _trust_ me”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adopppp is now Matt.
> 
> Leah is now Emily.
> 
>  
> 
> Canon divergence is coming soon.


	37. Hour 5: Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a Psycho afoot.

Stuck in nothing but a towel and flip-flops, Cinder rubbed their aching neck.

 

 

They’d been lucky.

 

 

If Mystic hadn’t shown up…

 

 

 

They probs wouldn’t be here right now.

 

 

 

 

THUD!

 

 

 

 

A whirling tornado spun through the doorway, and unceremoniously plopped down beside them on the stairs.

 

 

“Hey, I heard-!!”

 

“What the actual f*!!??”

 

 

 

They grabbed their friend’s blood-spattered shoulders.

 

 

 

“What is this!?

 

What the h* happened to _you_ -!!??”

 

 

She stopped her explanation cold.

 

 

“B-Bron…wyn…!!”

 

 

 

Her face crumpled, and she launched into their arms, sobbing.

 

 

 

“Wh-whoa!”

 

“Sh-she died…and then-and then-!!”

 

 

 

She snuffled harder into her friend’s shoulder.

 

 

 

It sounded like _you’d_ died too…!

 

 

 

“WHAT!?”

 

 

 

They were shocked!

 

 

 

“No, no!!

 

I’m here…I’m fine…”

 

 

 

They pat their friend soothingly on the head.

 

 

 

“I’m fine…”

 

 

 

_Twenty minutes prior…_

 

 

 

The Knight watched his soon-to-be victim bop to a tune on their headphones, blissfully unaware of his presence.

 

 

Silently scooping up the clothes that they had left folded up on the washstand, he retreated into the shadows.

 

 

 

After the last track had played to the end, they prepared to get out of the tub.

 

Only to find…

 

 

“What…you’ve gotta be kidding me!”

 

 

 

They were going to be stuck wearing a towel for the next thousand hours!?

 

 

 

“Ugh…f* my luck”.

 

 

 

 

Fully exiting now, they wrapped a towel around themselves.

 

 

_This’ll have to do until I can track down the joker(s) who stole my favorite jeans!_

 

 

 

 

“Hey guys, you around?”

 

 

**BONG** - **BONG** - **BONG** -

 

 

“Oh sweet son-of-a-!!”

 

 

 

Their heart about crashed through their rib cage!

 

 

“This day just gets better and better…”

 

 

 

_Guess I’ll have to go raid my suitcase then._

 

 

 

But, as they were about to go upstairs…

 

 

There was a flash of light from the cinema room.

 

 

“Huh?”

 

 

Judging from the lack of voices answering them earlier, that was highly suspect.

 

 

-Unless it was Mystic.

 

 

In which case…

 

 

 

“Hellooo?”

 

 

They peeked in the doorway, having snatched up a fire poker from the main area juuuuust for safety…

 

 

There was no one but an oddly-placed suit of silver armor.

 

 

 

Yet the projector kept running a loop of _them_ …

 

 

 

Wandering around the empty lodge, endlessly calling out for their friends…

 

 

“What the h* is this!!?”

 

 

**SLAM-**

 

 

_Holy-!?_

 

 

The doors had shut by themselves!?

 

 

 

With a hideous creak, the knight’s helmet turned to face them-

 

 

_-It was alive!!?_

 

 

 

“…Will they ever find what they are looking for?

 

I wonder…”

 

 

 

The voice was strangely familiar.

 

Almost as if they had heard it somewhere before-

 

 

 

“Who the f* are you!!?”

 

 

They whipped out their improvised weapon!!

 

 

“Don’t get any closer, I’m warning you!”

 

 

CLANK

 

 

“…Do you know?

 

What happened…”

 

 

 

The screen jumped, and static dissolved the image.

 

-Only to return with a gory gif-like picture of someone being bisected by a giant saw blade.

 

 

 

“Bronwyn!?”

 

 

 

Her death knell was long and haunting…

 

 

“Did you do that, you sick, f*!?”

 

 

“I didn’t do anything…it was your **friend** who pulled the lever”.

 

 

“What!?

 

No way!”

 

 

_I refuse to believe it…_

 

 

“None of us would do something like that!”

 

 

CLANK

 

 

“You say that now…”

 

 

CLANK

 

 

“But what do you really know about any of them?

 

All of you are authors, yes, but that is about all that can be known”.

 

 

CLANK

 

 

“…You’re wrong.

 

I know Tegan.

 

 

In real life”.

 

 

CLANK

 

 

“Even so”.

 

 

CLANK

 

 

 

“You don’t know everyone”.

 

 

 

 

And then he lunged.

 

 

 

 

_Oh **h*** no!!”_

 

 

With a vicious whack, they sent him reeling for a few seconds-

 

 

 

Long enough for them to back up, shoulder open the door, and retreat into the next room.

 

Leaping over the bed with strength they didn’t know they possessed, they re-grouped in the hallway, and took another swing.

 

 

That one cracked against his shoulder, and shaved off a piece of armor.

 

 

 

Didn’t do **s*** to slow down his assault-

 

 

 

Their feet found the basement stairwell, but the topmost one slid out from under their weight.

 

 

“-!!?”

 

 

 

Tripping on thin air, they almost toppled headfirst down the rest of the steps-!

 

 

“F*-whoah-!!”

 

 

 

Toes slamming flat against the concrete flooring, they winced at the dull pain crackling up through their legs.

 

 

 

“Ouch…ouch…!”

 

 

 

A slight breeze rippled over their neck, and they dodged into the cellar, barely avoiding the psycho’s grasp-

 

 

 

 

Their back pressed up against a thin rectangle of wood.

 

 

A door?

 

 

_Please let it be-_

 

 

Handleless.

 

 

 

 

“WHAT!? J*f*C-!!?”

 

 

 

 

They turned, the Knight only inches away from their face-

 

 

 

WHAMM!!

 

 

This last strike-

 

 

 

 

Sent his helmet clean flying **off**.

 

 

 

 

 

All went still…

 

 

All went **dead** still.

 

 

 

 

Alex Wassabi stared at them with empty eyes, a nasty wound opened up on the right side of his skull.

 

 

_The Novelist!?_

 

 

Was alive…!!?

 

 

Except the stench rolling off of his skin in waves told them something **else** -

 

 

 

"HEY-!!"

 

 

 

They went to force the door as his attention was diverted by the sudden cry!

 

A second, sling-shotted rock dinged off of his shoulder, and he lashed out at the mysterious source!!

 

 

-Which promptly dodged under his reach, and muscled Cinder through the doorway.

 

 

"Close it, _close it-!!_ "

 

 

 

They did it together, hands desperately holding their thin barrier firm while steel-toed boots kicked mercilessly at the other side.

 

Intending to drag them out of there whatever the cost.

 

 

Heart hammering in their chest, they barely had a chance to catch a glimpse-

 

 

_“Mystic!!?”_

 

 

 

 

Getting chased by a crazed ETN character hadn’t been in her plans for the night-

 

Not one iota.

 

 

Neither was saving somebody’s life.

 

 

 

Now she was here, with Cinder, completely defenseless in terms of stuff to bludgeon Mr. Impenetrable with.

 

Add that to the fact of ‘this-doorway-is-too-brittle-to-hold-on-for-two-more-seconds’, and you have a **pretty** bad situation.

 

 

"Cinder. It's been a while".

 

“-How’d you know I was in trouble?”

 

 

“I heard sawing noises from downstairs and wanted to know what was up with that, and then _you_ ran out of there like the Demons of H* were coming after-“

 

 

“Oh. Yeah, that’ll do it…”

 

 

 

CLANK-

 

CRA- **KRUNCH-!!**

 

 

-Mystic hurriedly hauled the fellow writer out of the line of impact as the wood folded like a cheap piece of origami!

 

 

"Th-thanks..."

 

“No problem, _but how are we going to deal with this now_!?”

 

 

Cinder thought for a moment, looking around wildly-

 

 

"There".

 

 

Mystic followed their gaze and…

 

 

 

“Seriously, that’s our plan!?”

 

“You got a better one!!?”

 

 

 

 

-And that’s how she ended up sprinting toward the defunct-elevator at top speed, the undead Novelist hot on their heels the _entire, f*kn way._

 

 

_How do I get myself into these things!?_

 

 

 

Her heartbeat ratcheted up to eleven in her ears-

 

 

 

"NOW!!"

 

 

She banked left, while the other banked right.

 

Alex skidded into the shaft at an impressive clip, and together?

 

 

 

 

They worked shut the door.

 

 

 

“Finally!” Cinder huffed.

 

 

Mystic heaved a _loooong_ , sigh of relief.

 

 

 

**BANG-!!**

 

 

"Ahhh, I spoke too soon-!!"

 

 

With just that one thrust, the walls of the machine rattled and sparked as they rubbed the walls.

 

 

 

Both of them recoiled in fear as his leg snapped out, and threatened to strike-

 

 

RRRRRrrrmmmmm....

 

 

The elevator promptly dropped down the shaft, burning glowing trails along the aged plaster all the way to the horrific, inevitable conclusion-

 

 

 

SMAAAASHHH~

 

 

CRACK-KA- **BOOOM!!**

 

 

 

A ball of fire belched up from the censored scene, and Mystic physically felt the eyebrows singe off her face.

 

 

...For a moment, neither of them spoke.

 

 

 

Then:

 

 

 

“Let’s get out of here”.

 

 

 

**Twenty minutes to now.**

 

 

 

Tegan blinked back her tears, awed by the story!

 

 

“Alex… _attacked_ you guys!?”

 

“Yeah…it was so surreal..."

 

 

"Wait, WHAT!!?"

 

 

 

Dooper had a look of disbelief upon his face-

 

A look that the other two writers were now mirroring as what they'd heard sank in.

 

 

"You saw ALEX!!??"

 

"-Yes, they did".

 

 

Movement from a darkened corner-

 

 

 

"And he's not the only one here".

 

 

 

 

Teala Dunn stepped out of the shadows wearing Bronwyn's coat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exams are done, school is out, and here's a new chapter to float y'all's boat!! ;)


	38. Hour 5: Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As promised.

_“Teala!?_

 

Wait-

 

 

**WHAAATT!!?** ”

 

 

Poor Tegan’s brain was beginning to short-circuit!

 

 

“First Alex, now _you_!?”

 

 

Meanwhile, Cinder was gauging whether or not they would have to fight to fight for their lives again.

 

 

 

“-Like I said, it’s not just me and him”.

 

 

 

She sighed, and beckoned them all to follow her.

 

 

 

“If you want to know more, we gotta play this out like it’s one of those reality TV shows y'all like to watch so much”.

 

 

 

“-It’s a trap, don’t do it!!” Adopppp warned.

 

 

“If I was gonna hurt you guys, I would have done it already.

 

You all make more noise than a wild herd of caribou”.

 

 

“We’ve been harassed pretty much the whole day. What do you expect…”

 

Aqua rubbed her arms and shoved the cruel memories out of her head.

 

 

 

...The Super Spy nonchalantly strolled out of the room.

 

 

 

“H-hey! Wait up!!”

 

Leah couldn’t believe what she had just heard or seen, but…

 

 

 

Mystic sighed.

 

“This can only lead to good things”.

 

 

 

They ended up back in the cinema room.

 

Because of **course** they would!

 

 

 

 

Only, instead of Bronwyn’s death throes, a dusty, dank room was showing on the screen.

 

 

 

“Where’s that?”

 

Adopppp hadn’t found _that_ place yet…

 

 

“I can’t tell you.

 

I’m the helper”.

 

 

“-Helper?”

 

 

Mystic caught on, and her face paled.

 

 

“You mean to say-!?”

 

 

“Yup”.

 

 

An affirmative nod.

 

 

“You guys are all about to compete to the death”.

 

 

 

Tegan’s eyes grew wide.

 

 

“C-compete…to the-!!?”

 

 

“Yup”.

 

 

“But…but **why!!?** ”

 

 

 

“Because one year prior somebody got killed, yeah?”

 

 

 

Six writers exchanged uncomfortable looks.

 

 

 

“Yeah.

 

Well, this particular kiddo-“

 

 

 

*Alice’s picture flashed on-screen for a brief instant, but there was something off about it*

 

 

 

“Ended up causing a real grief. A real panic.

 

See, a lot of restless spirits get drawn here, a lot of lost souls…

 

 

And when an accidental killing-“

 

 

*Collective flinch*

 

 

“-happens like this, some of that leftover life is up for grabs”.

 

 

“‘Up for grabs?’”

 

Cinder was wary-

 

 

She gestured to the secret sanctum displayed at the front.

 

 

 

“To whomever can survive until dawn…”

 

 

 

Counted with her fingers.

 

 

 

Transparent images paraded across the screen in the order which she said their names aloud-

 

 

Alex, Lauren, Roi, and me.

 

 

 

“They’ll be hunting you, you know if they haven’t gone and made the rest of your friends disappear already”.

 

 

 

_“Already!?”_

 

 

 

“Yeah, I think we’re what, two people short?”

 

“Three”, Aqua quietly corrected.

 

 

 

“Anyway, whoever can make it to the end of the night without dying, will get to enter the Shadow Cave depicted up front and center and bring someone back to life.

 

And not just anyone, but-"

 

 

 

Your favorite ETN character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now would be a good time to tell me y'all's Special Cookies. :)


	39. Next Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genre saviness kicks in.

At this…

Everyone was stunned into silence!!

 

_Could it really be true!?_

 

 

They were about to get the chance to bring someone back from the brink of death…

 

 

“But why do we have to die to do this!?” Tegan asked again.

 

“…I’m just the helper”.

 

“But don’t you know though!??

 

You’re friends with the other Guests, right?”

 

 

“Sorry, but I really can’t say anything more”.

 

 

“-In that case, I think some of us should go get help”.

 

Leah nodded to Adopppp.

 

 

“After this night is over, h* knows we’re gonna need it”.

 

 

“Yeah, I'm all for that, only instead of 'some of us', how about 'all'?”

 

Aqua started to pack up her stuff resolutely.

 

 

“Something about all this doesn’t sit right with me, and anyways, in a situation like this, it’s just safer”.

 

 

Mystic nodded.

 

“I second that”.

 

 

“There any time for me to raid y’alls wardrobe first?" Cinder asked.

 

"Alex went and stole all my clothes”.

 

 

Tegan wiped her eyes clear.

 

 

“I think…I think I’ve still got some stuff in my room you can borrow”.

 

 

“Thanks.

 

You’re the best, T”.

 

 

-

 

 

For the next five minutes, Adopppp and Leah went through the V.I.D. (very important documents) in the study.

 

 

“The cable car station-that’s the first place those creepos will look, isn’t it?”

 

 

“Yeah, and that's also where we found the pig head—sooo…”

 

 

She tapped a certain landmark that had been circled with a ton of red pen.

 

“We’re gonna want to go here to get help”.

 

 

He squinted.

 

 

“'The Blackwood County Fire Tower'?”

 

“Yup”.

 

 

She flashed him a hopeful grin, and tucked the large map into a clear plastic bag.

 

 

Not much else to carry stuff with considering the mountain of oil-scented luggage way out in the lounge…

 

 

“All we have to do is find it, and use the radio”.

 

“A piece of cake?”

 

She took a shaky breath.

 

 

 

“I sure hope so”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Death Flags are coming.


	40. Hour 6: The Fire Tower, Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Careful. This choice is silent but deadly.

Outside, the snow had settled, and everything seemed calm...

 

On the surface.

 

 The road to the fire tower twisted, turned, and climbed.

 

 “I think my calf muscles are reeeeally gonna hate me tomorrow”, Cinder cracked.

 

“So are mine”.

 

 

Tegan breathed in the crisp, clear air…and tried not to freak out for the thousandth time.

 

 “I think somebody might have to carry me down the mountain”.

 

 

“Just leave it to me!” Adopppp slung an arm around her shoulder.

 

“I can do that, no problem”.

 

 

 “Assuming all of us make it there in one piece…”

 

Aqua swished back the last few swallows of her plastic bottle.

 

 

 “Man…this situation is worse than the political one in China!”

 

  Mystic removed her glasses, and rubbed the frosted lenses over her sleeve.

 

 “Admittedly…I wouldn’t know much about that, but I do understand that both are pretty bad”.

 

 “D* right, they are!!”

 

  -Something crunched under Leah’s foot-!

 

 “Huh?”

 

 Crouching down, she dug out a beaten and battered, waaaay outdated cellphone.

 An unlisted number was currently trying to call…after at least 45 tries.

  

“Is that-“

 

All talk stopped cold.

 

   _...Alice’s_ phone?

 

 

 A stray teardrop escaped Tegan’s grasp.

 Mystic cleared her throat.

 

 “I…thought the police had gone over the entire place with a fine-toothed comb”.

 

 Adopppp shrugged.

 

 

“Maybe they made a mistake?

 It _was_ kinda wedged in there pretty tightly…”

 

 Cinder looked at it curiously.

 “Maybe…but who’s calling?”

 

“You mean, who _did_ call”.

 

Aqua jabbed a finger at the spider-webbed screen.

 

 “It’s ‘Missed’, now”.

  

_Wonder what that was all about…_

 

-

 

Further on (and up)-

 “Hey…guys?”

 

 Adopppp nudged a broken sign with his toe.

 “Might want to watch our steps”.

 

 “Thanks for the notice”, Cinder called over their shoulder.

 -Right before their foot slid off of the edge.

 

“Oh **s*-!!** ”

 

“CINDER-!!!!”

 

 Tegan anxiously lunged for her rapidly-disappearing friend!

 Their fingers tightly intertwined and stayed that way.

 

They bit back a stream of expletives as their arm was practically yanked out of its socket!!

 

 “I’vegotyouI’vegotyouI’vegotyou…”

 

 Aqua wrapped her arms around the struggling girl’s mid-section, and yanked.

 

Nothin’.

 

 

“Oh come on!

 

Why do you gotta fail me now, strength-what little I have…”

 

“Never fear, Adopppp is here!!!!”

 

 

**FWOOOMM-**

 

With an even stronger yank, all three were safe and sprawled on their backs in the snow.

 

 

“Thanks guys”, Cinder said a bit shakily.

 

“If it weren’t for you, I would be-“

  

“ **DON’T** SAY IT!!” Tegan yelled.

 

 

 

SCRREEEEEEE-!!!!

 

 

“Oh, what is that!?”

 

Aqua fumbled for her pepper spray (not actually hers, but whatever).

 

 

“I don’t know”.

 

Leah hefted a large knife stolen from the kitchen.

 

  

Yeah…

 

They’d all armored up before they’d gotten here.

 

 

“One of the Hunters, maybe…?”

 

 

If it was, they weren’t the most immediate concern.

 

An entire herd of deer (caribou?) came lumbering out of the woods in front of them, braying like mad, and snorting threateningly.

 

 

As they closed in, Cinder’s eyes flicked nervously to the cliff they’d almost vanished over.

 

 

_Oh f*-didn’t we JUST do this!?_

 

“Everybody, stay calm”.

 

Leah slowly lowered her weapon…

 

“If we don’t make any sudden movements, or loud noises then we should be fine…”

 

 

“But they’re coming closer”, Aqua whispered out the side of her mouth.

 

 

“I know, I know…”

  

“Maybe we can, you know…slip by them?”

 

 

They all looked incredulously at Cinder.

 

 

“What? They don’t seem to be doing much other than making noise-“

  

“And crowding us over the edge?”

 

 

“Which is why we should go now.

 So that we don’t get cornered”.

 

 

“Welp, I’m gonna try it”, Adopppp said confidently.

 

 

“Please don’t die”, Tegan whimpered as he meticulously weaved through the herd.

  

He flinched a couple times from the bristly-ness of their fur, but otherwise…

  

“Smooth sailing, everybody!

 C’mon”.

 

-

 

Mystic’s boots hit the snow with a soft _flumph!_

 

“Whoa-“

 “Hey now, I gotcha!”

 

Aqua steadied her as the girl successfully negotiated the rocky ledge.

  

“Th-thank you-“

 “N.P”.

  

“AAH-!”

 

Tegan jumped six feet as a light pole suddenly switched on only inches away.

  

“It’s just a motion sensor, silly”.

 “Oh…”

  

Relief turned to awe, however, as soon as she looked once more at the massively-spiraling structure straight ahead.

 

The fire tower…

 

A long, and sturdy ladder led up its length, and she knew immediately upon noticing it-

 

_Nope._

  _Not in a million **years** am I climbing that!_

 

 

“Who wants to go up there?” Adopppp asked eagerly.

 

 “I mean, I’ll go”.

 

Leah took out a manual on how to use the radio.

 

“-Where did you find that?”

 

Mystic was beginning to wonder if this lady was descended from Chuck Norris.

 

“In the study”.

 

“…And me, right?

 Because we’re a dynamic duo-“

 

 “Of course, Adopppp”.

 

 “Yessss…!!”

 

“Guess that means the rest of us are standing guard”.

 

Aqua warily shot a glance over her shoulder.

  “You all know how to use your weapons?”

 

“I’ve got my handy fire poker!”

 Cinder smacked it a few times into their palm.

 

 Tegan held up a frying pan.

 "I'll go Tangled all over their butts-maybe".

 

 Mystic brandished a double-combination consisting of a baseball bat and her trusty, homemade slingshot.

 "I suppose this makes me the heavy hitter".

 

 “Good”.

 ...She pulled out a pickaxe from her knapsack.

 

 “And where did you find _that!_?”

 

“I took it off the wall in one of the spare rooms...along with the pepper spray”.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be the pacifist of us!?”

 

 “Yeah. I’m scared stiff”.

 

 -

 

 As the twosome shimmied up the first ladder, Adopppp couldn’t quite quiet the fiery spark of adventure flaring to life in his heart.

 

This was _wildly_ dangerous, and he could probably die at any moment, but-

 

 He couldn’t deny.

 

  

_He was more alive now than he’d ever been before in his entire life!!_

 

 In fact, he was so pumped up that he practically **zoomed** up the second connecting ladder like lightning!

 

“You are hereby never allowed to have coffee again”, Leah remarked drily.

 

The third ladder zipped by in the same manner, and, in no time at all, he was locking up the entry hatch behind his partner.

 

 “Okie-dokies!

 We’re in!!

 

 Now what do we do?”

 

 She brushed some dust off of the radio.

 

 “Restore the power, first of all-“

 “Already on it!”

 

 While he scurried off to do just that like an energizer bunny on steroids, she stepped back outside to see what else could be found…

 

 Coughing slightly at the stray nip of the night, she shuddered slightly at the view.

 

Four ant-sized Writers acting as sentries against _who-knew-what_ out there...

 

_Will they really be okay?_

 

She didn't know, and she felt **incredibly** guilty over temporarily leaving them behind.

 

 

And then she saw something:

 

A flare gun resting inside of a box.

 

 

Opening it, she removed the potential line of defense, and hefted it into her hands.

 

 

 

**KEEP OR GIVE TO ADOPPPP?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I had too much fun. And it probably shows. (:
> 
> Also spent like, another hour just trying to fix my rampant spacing, AAAHHHH-
> 
>  
> 
> Also.2, Leah is Emily, and Adopppp is Matt.


	41. Hour 6: The Fire Tower, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're not afraid of heights...

“Hey Adopppp”.

 

“Yeah?”

 

He poked his head out from behind a bunch of junk.

 

“You want this?”

 

Leah held out the flare gun-

 

“Holy mother of Gold **WOULD** I!!?”

 

Excitedly taking it from her, the first thing he did was unceremoniously pull the trigger.

 

FWOOSH~

 

“Whoa!”

 

“Uh, you might want to be careful with that…we don’t know how much juice is left in it.

Besides, I’d like to leave here _without_ being burned”.

 

“Uhh…good point”.

 

“Did you find a source of power, yet?”

 

“Mm-hm!”

 

He pointed at the mounted box.

 

“I was gonna yoink on the stick when you came in”.

 

CLICK-

 

With a whirring sound, the radio emitted a round of static.

 

“Okay.

I’m going to see if I can’t fix this…”

 

“Alrighty!

I’ll be here if you need anything”.

 

“Thanks”.

 

-

 

It took a bit of puzzling to fine-tune the radio, but once she’d gotten the signal connected:

 

‘-ranger service for Blackwood County. Over’.

 

She sighed in relief.

 

 

“Hello…Sir?

This is Leah-“

 

‘…Hello?’

 

“Hello!

It’s me, Leah!!

 

Me and seven others are trapped here, snowed-in, and being hunted by-“

 

‘…Hello is someone trying to contact us? This is the park ranger service for Blackwood County. I'm not getting your signal very well. Please speak slowly and clearly, over’.

 

“This is Leah.

My friends and I came up to the lodge for a fandom reunion.

Now we’re stuck, and we need help!

There are-“

 

‘…If you can hear this, please repeat your message as I am unable to understand what you are saying, over’.

 

On the other end of the line, she could hear loud static-

 

“My name is Leah!!

We need help, and we need it now-!!!”

 

‘Hello? Can you please identify yourself? Over’.

 

_“I’m Leah!!!”_

 

Adopppp jumped at her sudden increase in volume-

 

“We’re stuck up on Blackwood Mountain, and there’s at least one psycho after us who’s already murdered one of our friends-

We’re by the fire tower right now, but we’ll probably move along soon because it’s not safe-!!”

 

“Hey…?

Something hit the motion sensor…!?”

 

‘I read you, ma'am’.

 

Oh thank **God!!**

-She could’ve sank to the ground with relief!!

 

‘Please do not leave your position. We will send out helicopters to get you as soon as the storm has subsided, over’.

 

-She could’ve had a heart attack then and there.

 

“Wh-?

When…will that be!?”

 

‘Dawn, at the earliest. Not until dawn, over’.

 

“When’re they coming?”

 

He looked so hopeful…

She swallowed a healthy dose of panic.

 

“Not until dawn”.

 

“WHAT!!?”

 

_Rrrrr_ …

 

“What’s that?”

 

“Sounds like a motorcycle-“

 

**CLANG!!**

 

The hatch caved slightly, and they both flinched.

 

“Uh-oh…!”

 

“Quick, get down!!”

 

From below, they could hear their friends freaking out about a snapped…wire…!?

 

 

The tower promptly tilted-

 

 

Hands firmly curled around their precious radio, Leah choked on a scream-

 

 

“-Oof!”

 

Adopppp’s mid-section smacked into a support beam, but at least _that_ was holding him up.

 

She wasn’t so lucky.

 

With a **THUD** , her back slammed against the window!

 

“Ow-“

 

“Leah!

You okay!?”

 

“For now, yeah-“

 

A printer that had been upended by the sudden shift hurtled towards her face!!

 

“-!!”

 

She quickly rolled out of the way-

 

**SMASH-!!**

 

The glass shattered into smithereens, and it was all she could do to keep herself smushed into her rapidly-diminishing corner.

 

“LEAH!!”

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, we’re gonna be okay-“

 

_**CR-R-R-E-E-E-A-A-K-K-** _

 

The tower fell the rest of the way.

 

Her stomach floated up into her chest-

 

“AHHHHHHH-!!!!”

 

 

**CRUNCH-!!**

 

-

 

As soon as the snow settled, Adopppp let go of his saving grace and tumbled haphazardly to the ground.

 

“Phew- **LEAHHH!!!?????????** ”

 

“-Adopppp?”

 

“ _Yesss_ , you’re alive-“

 

“I think there’s a cliff nearby?”

 

He looked around.

 

So much dirt and abandoned machinery…

 

“Oh! Yeah, I see it-“

 

“I’m still at the window”.

 

-His mouth went dry.

 

Painfully climbing up the side of a half-broken track, he saw her…

 

Still pressed up in that corner, heels digging desperately into the metal-

 

 

A thousand-foot abyss stretched beneath her half of the structure!!

 

“Well f* me.

I mean…

…

I’m gonna get you out of there.

 

I swear it!!”

 

Even though by the time he would be able to shimmy up there, it might be too late…

 

“Just hang on, okay?”

 

“I’m hanging…”

 

_Just put one foot in front of the other._

_You can make it…_

 

A bead of sweat ran down his forehead.

 

Scaling the large rock that conveniently separated his section from hers, he thought nothing of his rubbed-raw fingers, his cramping legs, his aching worry that by the time he could get up there, she would be gone-

 

“Adopppp?”

 

“I’m here”.

 

Slid one toe onto the now-sideways series of ladders.

 

“And I’m comin’ just like I promised!!”

 

Started to walk sideways, now… **wicked** carefully.

 

“…Thanks”.

 

“It’s nothin’!”

 

When he was able to get a better glimpse of her, he stretched out his hand-

 

“Can you reach it?”

 

“I can try-“

 

_r-r-r-r-r-r-R-R-R-mble-_

 

“Wh-whoaaahh-!?”

 

The tower shook.

 

“N-no-!”

 

Leah’s half rolled over like a log-

 

“HEY-“

 

He clung to the rungs of the ladder for dear life-

 

_Don’tletgodon’tletgodon’tletgo-!!_

 

 

…

 

 

His palms… ** _really_** hurt.

 

He opened his eyes to find himself alone.

 

 

Off of the tower…

 

 

Lying on a cold, stony ledge.

 

 

“Oh no!

Oh s*, oh crap, oh f*”.

 

Adopppp scrambled to his feet, the all-consuming concern for his friend’s well-being drowning out his shock at the hideously bloody, and lacerated sights of his arms from fingertip to elbow.

 

“I gotta find her, _I gotta find her!_ ”

 

Ice racing through his veins, he ran for the nearest cavern-

 

A hand loomed out of nowhere, and clamped tightly around his throat.

 

-!?

 

The leathery, half-scaled face of Roi Fabito glowered into view.

Curved claws leaving a thin indentation in the skin-

 

A _motorcycle_ had revved up the tower.

 

**Flare gun.**

 

Trembling fingers grasped desperately for it, only to discover that he hadn’t hidden it in his pockets-

 

His _pants_ pockets.

 

He rent it loose from the one in his _jacket_ , and took aim.

 

 

**HIT THE TARGET OR MISS THE TARGET?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more, and the train wreck with the guards will be revealed.


	42. What Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The highly-requested memory has arrived.

**BOOM!**

 

Adopppp pulled the trigger.

 

 

With a hissing cry, the unforgivingly tight grip-

Suddenly released.

 

“-Umphf!”

 

Flopping into the dirt, the boy wheezed with relief.

 

 

_Yessss, I’m still alive!_

 

 

The Daredevil clawed in agony at his flaming face-

 

While he snuck feebly deeper into the tunnel.

 

 

_Thank you Leah!_

 

Thank you.

 

*

 

One Year Ago

 

*

 

Mystic hid in her bedroom, a chair wedged under the doorjamb.

 

 

_Why’d they have to catch me singing now!?_

 

 

They’d been playing Show-tunes on the bus.

 

Was it any wonder that she couldn’t help but join in?

 

 

  _I just **know** they’ll be after me to sing._

 

_I just know it!_

 

 

 And sure enough-

 

“Hey! It’s me, Tegan?

 

Um…are you in there?”

 

 

 Crap.

 

 

 

 “Look, look at them!!

 

Aren’t they so cute!?”

 

 Bird was practically throttling Bronwyn in her glee.

 

 

 “-That’s not exactly the first thought that comes to mind”.

 

 

 

“What do you mean you don’t want to sing?”

 

Aqua’s voice.

 

 “That high note was so epic it broke a window”.

 

 

She winced.

 

_Just_ great…

 

 

“You sure it wasn’t because it was too screechy for the glass to handle?”

 

“B* where?” Chala commented.

 

 “The only thing too screechy were the tires after we hit that first bump”.

 

 

“But…”

 

She sighed.

 

 

“Just because you say that my singing is good doesn’t mean that it actually is”.

 

 

_You might just be doing it because you’re my friends._

 

 

“Sounded fine to me”, Cinderscoria remarked.

 

 “If it wasn’t, we’d all have bleeding ears”, Adopppp cheerfully put in.

 

 

 “Yeah. Bleeding on the inside, where I can’t see-“

 

 

“How do you know it’s not singing worth dying for?”

 

 

 Leah.

 

 

 “Not you too-“

 

 “Hey”.

 

A shrug.

 

Probably-

 

 

“If you don’t want to do it, then don’t.

 

But if you do want to, we’re not gonna judge.

 

 

That’s not what this fandom does”.

 

 

Mystic stiffened.

 

 

In all her years of being alive-

 

Had this been the first time…

 

 

That someone was willing to let her make her own decision-

 

 

“…Where’s Bird?”

 

 

“Fangirling about something a ways back”, Aqua said candidly.

 

 

“…

 

…And Bronwyn?”

 

 

“She stayed behind with Bird.

 

Something about being afraid she was going to 'jump up-and-down too much, and create a hole through the floor'?”

 

 

Chala sounded amused.

 

 

“…

 

…

 

…And Alice?”

 

 

“She’s downstairs…I think?”

 

 

Adopppp popped the lid off a bottle of soda.

 

And chugged the whole thing in one gulp.

 

 

“Now how did you do that?” Aqua gasped.

 

 

“Beats me”.

 

 

Mystic thought it over.

 

 

“…Okay”.

 

 

“Yay, thank you!!” Tegan gushed.

 

“I hereby promise that I will never ask you to do anything ever again!!!”

 

 

 

At the far end of the hallway was Roi…and Teala.

 

Holding hands, and talking together in low voices-

 

 

Bird felt like her heart was going to explode in her chest!!!!!!!!

 

 

“I’m DYING, I just CAN’T this is so amazing-!”

 

“This is weird”.

 

 

Bronwyn was watching with a mildly-confused expression.

 

 

“Didn’t they both die?”

 

“Oh. Yeah-“

 

 

Bird blinked.

 

 

 

“Then what are they doing here?”

 

 

 

Feeling slightly self-conscious, the Writer couldn’t help but blush at the many smiles she received when she left the room in a bright-pink princess dress.

 

And matching flats.

 

 

Because why not.

 

 

“Did you guys set up a stage already?”

 

“The coffee table?” Aqua suggested.

 

 

“That…would be dangerous”, Leah said.

 

 

 

While the six authors descended the stairwell opposite the two spies, something miraculous happened.

 

Every shipper’s dream in a nutshell-

 

 

They kissed.

 

 

Bird could barely control the volume of her happy screaming!!!

 

 

“Shhhh!” Bronwyn hissed.

 

 

“DID YOU SEE THAAATT!!?”

 

 

-In the quietest whisper possible.

 

 

“I did, yeah…”

 

“I think I’ve reached my life goals!!”

 

“Okay…”

 

 

 

The five soon-to-be listeners arranged themselves comfortably on the numerous couches, while Mystic stood at the front of the room.

 

 

 

“Hey…hey…”

 

“Oh?”

 

 

The two Guests had just separated.

 

And were slowly inching their way close…

 

 

“…Do you think they see us?”

 

“Bird-“

 

 

They started to back up toward the other stairwell.

 

 

Mystic opened her mouth-

 

 

 

SPLASH-!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -And this is only half of the story. (Insert bad imitation of an evil grin here)
> 
> By the way, I do like answering the questions I get but as things get more complicated going forward if you can hang onto them for a bit, you would really be a lifesaver!!
> 
> It'd just be easier for me to fix little plot snarls during Death Options and/or when it's all over.
> 
> Because hopefully, by then, I will have already hit on the answers. 0u0
> 
>  
> 
> I have also been thinking of opening up sign-ups for Pocket Mirror: The Writers Ed.
> 
> I was gonna do 'Misao', or 'Life Is Strange', but those kinda have buttons that I'm not sure how to navigate yet.
> 
> They'll either go under the comments for this chapter, or I'll post something. 
> 
> Whatever you guys wanna do...
> 
>  
> 
> Have a nice day & Summer!!!! ;)
> 
>  
> 
> -NAC


	43. What Happened, Pt. 2: Retread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Havoc breaks loose.

“-Mystic?”

 

“Huh?”

 

She snapped out of her trance.

 

“What?”

 

Tegan was staring at her curiously.

 

“You were kinda spacing out there for a couple secs”, Aqua informed.

 

“…Was I?”

 

“Yeah”, Cinder nodded.

 

“Did anything happen?”

 

“Nah, just a bunch of cold breezes”.

 

 

They were on guard duty.

 

Yup.

 

 

Them.

 

 

It would be a miracle if they even lasted five seconds.

 

*

 

Red spray flew through the air!

 

Mystic choked on her aria as the entire contents of the overturned punch bowl splattered all over her dress-

 

 

And a flailing Bird-

 

 

And a rigid Bronwyn.

 

 

The snack table had folded beneath them after their apparent swan dive, sending spaghetti and crackers, guacamole and chips, fried chicken with all the trimmings…

 

 

ALL over the walls.

 

 

“I am SO SORRY-!!”

 

“…What happened?”

 

 

For their part…

 

Leah’s mouth was in an ‘o’, Adopppp had effectively snorted his second drink, Tegan stared in horror, Chala face-palmed, and Aqua nearly fell off her seat.

 

 

“I’ll get the towels!” Cinder abruptly volunteered.

 

 

Nobody said anything as they raced out of there fast enough for the cup of ramen on their head to go flying halfway into the kitchen.

 

 

Standing there, sloooowly realizing the extent of the massive mess around her-

 

 

She suddenly was hit with a devastating conclusion.

 

 

 

Bird and Bronwyn were soaked with punch.

 

SHE was soaked with punch.

 

 

None of the seated writers, were.

 

 

Now.

 

 

How on earth would you figure that-

 

Unless.

 

 

“You guys set me up…”

 

 

“What?”

 

Aqua froze mid-reclaiming her spot on the couch.

 

 

“You guys set me up!”

 

 

“No-“

 

Leah tried to reach for her as she bolted.

 

 

She wasn’t quite fast enough.

 

*

 

CRASH-!!

 

 

“AHHHH!”

 

Tegan about lifted ten feet from the earth.

 

“It’s just the ladder clattering”, Cinder reassured.

 

“Haaaaahhhhh…”

 

Her breath was so long and deep that the clear cloud it left behind stretched off clear to the Canadian mountains.

 

 

Mystic, frowning, removed her glasses.

 

They’d fogged up in no time.

 

 

_Wait…what’s that?_

 

 

About two feet away from the base of the tower sat a yellow-rimmed object.

 

*

 

“Alice…?”

 

That was her, coming out of the dark-?

 

‘Hi…I heard you’d run off, and I got worried-‘

 

 

“You shouldn’tve wasted your time!”

 

 

Didn’t it figure that it was the one who _wasn’t_ there who showed up _right_ when she needed a shoulder to cry on.

 

 

She would’ve laughed if her throat wasn’t too busy being clogged with sobs.

 

 

“I just wanted to be left alone, but nooo…They had to convince me to sing!”

 

“I’m sure you have a lovely voice-“

 

 

“That’s not the _**point!!**_ ”

 

 

If her shout fazed the girl, she did a good job of not showing it.

 

 

And that made me even more upset!

 

 

Angrily yanking off her tiara, she threw it into the snow!!

 

 

“Just when they'd talked me out of my persistent belief that I was a miserable screw-up..

 

Just when they'd finally convinced me that I really was someone perfectly capable, with the right even, to go out there and prove that I was talented with no worries about being judged-

 

 

I got stabbed in the back!!”

 

*

 

She picked it up.

 

Its face was a bit strange, but not overly so.

 

 

Curiously turning it over, a yawning window drew her in-

 

*

 

“My moment was ruined, and now…

 

 Now how can I face them knowing that it was all a lie!?”

 

 

“I don’t think it was.

 

I think they feel just as bad about it as you do”.

 

 

“But you weren’t there.

 

How would _you_ know what happened-what they even thought?”

 

 

“Because I went into the living room after you were gone, and I saw at least five people acting upset.

 

In fact, I heard them distinctly say that it would be a mistake for them to try and go after you, because they knew just how much you would hate it if they did.

 

 

 

People who betray others wouldn’t act this way”.

 

 

…

 

 

 

“…I’m cold”.

 

 

So she went and gave her the only coat she had-

 

 

“Alice-!”

 

“It’s okay, I’ve got two sweaters on, I’ll be just fine”.

 

 

Taking her hand, Mystic wiped her eyes and nose, and tried to genuinely believe that going back was a good idea.

 

 

 

“Now, let’s go back to the others”.

 

*

 

There was an empty room.

 

A bare table with only one object sitting upon it:

 

 

A **gun**.

 

*

 

“Oh my God, what is that!?”

 

She didn’t say anything, just swerved around to where they’d been.

 

 

“-!”

 

Her feet slipped out from under her.

 

 

“Alice!!”

 

 

Their hands disconnected.

 

 

Whirling on her heel, the writer ran back to help her up despite the heavy breathing and cacophony of disturbed leaves getting closer and closer and closer-

 

 

“Thank you…”

 

 “No problem!”

 

 

THUD-

 

 

Alice’s phone disappeared.

 

 

Their light was effectively gone-

 

 

“No, no-“

 

A dead-end drop-off into the abyss.

 

 

Mystic clutched the other girl’s arm for dear life as they were forced to slide ever backward-

 

Her shoes slipped off the edge.

 

 

“NO-“

 

 

Alice was dragged off with her!

 

 

“Whoah-!”

 

 “NONONONO-!!”

 

*

 

Shuddering, the author pocketed the totem.

 

_I don’t even want to know._

 

 

Rrrr _mmmm, rrrmmmm…_

 

 

“What’s that!?” Tegan yelped.

 

“What’s that!!?”

 

 

She swung her frying pan out in front of her as if that would be enough to drive away whatever was near-

 

 

“A motorcycle?” Cinder frowned.

 

 

“In _these_ woods?” Aqua said incredulously, “On the side of _these_ mountains!?

 

No way”.

 

 

“Th-then what is it-“

 

 

 

Headlights pierced the all-consuming darkness.

 

*

 

They were hanging by a thread.

 

 

“Alice!!!”, she shrieked.

 

 “What do we do!?”

 

“Uh-“

 

“NO!!

 

STAY BACK!!!”

 

 

“Huh!?”

 

 

-Did she see them?

 

The fr*n _serial killer_ peeping down at them!!?

 

 

She let go-!!!!??

 

 

“NO ALICE WHY-!?”

 

 

We both careened into emptiness.

 

*

 

It zoomed by them like a speeding bullet-

 

A red-white-and-blue streamered motorbike.

 

 

Aqua tried to hammer it with her pick-axe, Cinder took a home-run worthy swing with her poker, and Mystic scrambled to throw the bat, and lob a good-sized chunk of ice at the suspect intruder (hunter).

 

Tegan was frozen stiff.

 

 

Not to mention that they all missed by a hairs-width-

 

 

The vehicle rumbled its way up the side of the tower, miraculously hanging onto its upward momentum with an impressive death grip.

 

 

_“What the actual f*!?”_ Aqua freaked.

 

“Oh s*, the cable’s cut-!!”

 

 

No sooner had Cinder said this than the whole edifice began to lean.

 

*

 

All I remembered during that fateful fall was the sickening, horrifying fear.

 

 

I didn’t think that I would survive.

 

 

I didn’t think that either of us would!

 

 

 

But.

 

 

When the endless rolling, and breaking had finally, mercifully come to an end-

 

 

 

My eyes fluttered open.

 

*

 

**SNAP-!!**

 

“SOMEBODY GRAB IT”, Tegan screamed.

 

She leapt for the tottering support and Cinder went to join her!!

 

“Guys, that’s not gonna do it-“

 

 

Aqua’s eyes grew wide as the two of them were bodily lifted into the air!

 

 

“LET GO, you’re both gonna die-!!”

 

 

They didn’t.

 

 

“S*, s*, s*-“

 

 

She ran off after them as the tower tipped over!!!

 

 

Mystic hurried to catch up, mind spinning.

 

*

 

Sunshine.

 

How-!?

 

 

I tried to roll over, and my limbs cried out in protest!

 

 

“A…Al…ice…?”

 

 

She was just in front of me.

 

 

 

Blood blurred in my eyes as I saw the bones sticking out of her spine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...Josh's next trap involves a 'shoot you, or shoot them'.
> 
> Which is effectively the uh, next choice.
> 
>  
> 
> What do you guys want me to do about it?


	44. What Happened, Pt. 3: Lost In The Mountains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Present, three Writers embark on a mission to save their friend. In the past, one Writer is confronted with an awful truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS for Abandonment, and Betrayal.
> 
> Probably should have put that there before I published the chapter and not after.
> 
> Oh yes, and it WILL get worse.
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry, folks. ):

Oh my God…

Alice…

 

Is she…?

 

 No.

No!

 

 Nonononononono-

 

 

The burst of energy that shot through me at the hideous sight had me on all fours in an instant.

 

Never mind the pain of forcing battered limbs to lift me up!

 

That took a backseat.

 

That _had_ to take a backseat or I was going to have an anxiety-fueled meltdown right then and there.

 

 “Alice, _Alice-!!”_

 

 I turned her over, heart squeezing at the glassy look in her eyes.

 

 “Wake up, wake up, wake up-“

 

 Not even a hiss of air.

 

Cold, unforgiving reality was staring me right in the face.

 

But I didn’t want to believe it.

 

I didn’t want to believe the emptiness of a pulse at her neck.

 

I didn’t want to believe the stiffness of her limbs, nor the pools of blood congealing upon the snow.

 

 I didn’t want to believe that the girl who had stuck by me this entire time, never, _ever_ giving up on me even when I felt like I had f*ked up bad…was dead.

 

 My eyes stung with unshed tears.

 

 

_Hi…I heard you’d run off, and I got worried-_

 

_I’m sure you have a lovely voice-_

 

_It’s okay, I’ve got two sweaters on, I’ll be just fine._

 

  _Now, let’s go back to the others._

 

 I was **sobbing**.

 

*

 

“CINDER!! TEGAN!!”

 

 Aqua’s frantic shouts mingled with the cacophonous racket of the falling tower until Mystic wanted to throw up.

 

 Too much noise… _way_ too much noise…!!

 

 There wasn’t anything she could do about it, either.

 

Just keep running towards the rolling steel, breaths coming hard and fast in her throat.

 

 “Agh- Oh s*!!”

 

“Aqua!?”

 

“D*nt, d*nt…”

 

 She’d seen a spark of orange from the path, and then nothing.

 

 “What was that!?”

 

“My flashlight just died”, she exclaimed grumpily.

 

“Stupid cold…”

 

 With a thundering crash, it hit the mines.

 

 “GUYS!!!!”

 

 

 

 Their back slammed against the snow, head spinning in circles from the sudden Zipper ride.

 

“Tegan!!?”

 

Snowflakes burning at the edge of their lashes, they hauled themselves upright.

 

“TEGAN!!!!”

 

Ignoring the pulsating ache in their arms and legs, they stumbled along in the harsh powder, worry coating their insides with freezing dread.

 

“TEGAN!!!!!!”

 

“Hey-!”

 

 Hands gripped their shoulders.

 

 “Aqua!”

 

“Cinder!!

You’re okay!!!”

 

“I’m fine, yeah, but where’s Tegan-!?”

 

“Um, guys?”

 

The two survivors looked up.

 

“What?”

 

Mystic moved aside.

 

In the snow were drag marks.

 

*

 

I don’t know how long I stayed like that.

 

Just…staring.

 

At the corpse.

 

I’d lost someone again.

 

And I couldn’t just write them back into existence.

 

 My stomach hurt from crying.

 

My hands were wet from wiping away the tracks.

 

But worst of all?

 

 My mind couldn’t decide who to blame.

 

 Me, for running out like that thereby making her follow to her doom?

 

Or Leah and Tegan, who had tried their _hardest_ to get me to sing, who had been at the forefront of the ‘well-meaning’ siege outside my bedroom door?

 

 I couldn’t decide what to do with the body.

 

Bury it?

 

Leave it?

 

 It seemed wrong to just let it sit there…

 

Yet if they came for me, they would want to know what had become of her.

 

 …Well.

 

One thing was for sure.

 

As I gazed up at the sheer cliff face high above me.

 

I knew that there was no fr*n way I was going to be able to get up there on my own.

 

*

 

They didn’t know each other very well.

 

It was sad but true.

 

Occasionally, they would both comment upon the same works…

 

But that was it.

 

 “This is sketch city”, Aqua remarked.

 

Cinder said nothing, features tight with worry.

 

Mystic slowly nodded.

 

 They had been trailing the suspicious marks for a good twenty minutes now.

 

Maybe.

 

No signs of life.

 

Not even a lost scrap of clothing to make absolutely certain that they were going the right way.

 

 “This is gonna be an ambush.

 

Calling it now”.

 

“I don’t care who I have to fight as long as we get her back safe and sound”.

 

“Just don’t die in the process, please-“

 

“I won’t. You can count on that”.

 

 “…Is that a house?”

 

 It was, and it very conveniently had a loose front door.

 

“This is all sorts of trouble”.

 

The h*-bent writer shouldered it open without a second thought.

 

When the three of them stepped inside-

 

BANG!!

 

It slammed shut.

 

“S*!”

 

“F*-me…”

 

They didn’t so much as flinch.

 

 

 

Mystic tried to open a second door, but that one yanked itself right out of her hand!

 

“What the-!?”

 

“You need help getting in there?”

 

SWOOSH-

 

“Hey-!!”

 

Aqua’s yelp drowned them out.

 

She pointed wildly at something further on.

 

“That door just like, _flew-_ “

 

“What?”

 

“Really?”

 

 Cautiously creeping over the threshold, Mystic screamed.

 

“What! What is it!?”

 

Cinder lifted up an old candlestick and prepared to get down to business.

 

“I…I saw…”

 

“Saw what?”

 

The third member of their party’s voice was starting to grow ragged.

 

“A…Alice…”

 

*

 

I had no idea where we’d ended up.

 

At all.

 

I could _maybe_ see a tunnel at the far end of the slope…?

 

 Voices.

 

 “Hey! HEY!!”

 

I began to shout.

 

 “We’re down here!!

 

We’re trapped-“

 

 One by one.

 

Familiar faces peering into the pit.

 

 

Leah, Tegan, Chala, Aqua, Adopppp, even Birdy and Bronwyn.

 

 

A weight lifted from my chest as the tears flowed—

 

Happy tears this time.

 

I guess…

 

I guess Alice was right?

 

About them not meaning any harm…

 

 “Can you guys hear me!?

 

WE NEED HELP!!”

 

_Only one of you needs help._

 

Shut up, brain!

 

 I slid off her bright-purple coat, and waved it into the air with all of my strength!!!

 

They were still searching, having gotten even closer to the edge.

 

I threw it up into the air, yelling with all of my might!

 

 

“LEAH, TEGAN!

 

CHALA!!

 

AQUA, ADOPPPP!!

 

BIRDY!!!

 

BRONWYN!!!

 

 

WE’RE DOWN HERE!!!!!!”

 

 

Come on guys…

 

You _do_ see us…

 

How can you not!!?

 

 Go any farther, and they too, would fall in.

 

*

 

“You saw _who!?_ ”

 

“-But she’s dead!”

 

“No! I know what I saw!!”

 

 Her heart was thundering in her chest.

 

 “I was there when she died, remember?

 

I ought to know what she looked like”.

 

 Hurt bloomed across Aqua’s face, but it was quickly squashed.

 

Cinder nodded grimly.

 

 “Sure. Okay…”

 

“Are we gonna follow this shade or not?”

 

“…You believe me?”

 

She was genuinely surprised.

 

“We’ve seen crazier already…”

 

They shrugged.

 

“Let’s do it.

 

Let’s go follow her”.

 

*

 

Their faces closed off.

 

I saw it happen…

 

“Wh-GUYS!!?”

 

I saw them turn around and vanish from my sight.

 

 “WHERE ARE YOU GOING!!?

 

WE’RE RIGHT HERE!!!”

 

We’re right here…

 

My lungs clogged up, and I couldn’t breathe.

 

Why…

_Why!?_

 

Didn’t you hear me calling out!?

 

Didn’t you see me hopping around like a maniac!!?

 

 

Why are you leaving us behind…!!

 

 

And then I realized.

 

For the second time that night.

 

I’d been betrayed yet again.

 

*

 

The basement door creaked.

 

 

“That is open”, Aqua gulped.

 

“That is very open-“

 

“We have to go down there”.

 

Cinder brandished their candlestick, and sidled past the twosome.

 

“See anything?” Mystic whimpered.

 

“Nothing yet-“

 

CRACK-

 

“What was that!?”

 

“Probably just the heating…” Cinder tried to reassure her.

 

“Okay…” Aqua muttered.

 

“Hope we don’t get murdered by ghosts somewhere along the line”.

 

No sooner had the words been uttered than a louder CRAACK was heard.

 

“What-“

 

Mystic scuttled to the side as an old plate smashed into the concrete.

 

“Freaky”.

 

Cinder eyed the now-drooping cabinet suspiciously.

 

“Hey, hey that’s moving-“

 

Aqua stepped away from the disturbed rocking horse…

 

“Somebody must’ve knocked into it”.

 

“Oh good”.

 

“Is Tegan actually somewhere in this place?”

 

“She has to be, Mystic”.

 

“I know, but this is getting seriously creepy”.

 

*

 

They could’ve saved us, but they didn’t.

 

If they’d cared, they would’ve said something.

 

Anything!

 

They would’ve at least promised to come back with help…

 

 Hyperventilating.

 

I was hyperventilating-

 

 I’d been led on before…

 

Lied to, manipulated.

 

This wasn’t new for me.

 

 But Alice?

 

 

I could only spare a glance at her pale, fragile form.

 

 

She didn’t deserve this.

 

She didn’t deserve to be tossed aside like yesterday’s garbage!

 

 

Was it because she’d gone after me?

 

Was _that_ why!?

 

 I couldn’t think of any other reason for why they would write _her_ off, too.

 

 It made me **sick**.

 

Sick to my bones.

 

 How could they?

 

How _could_ they!?

 

 

I’d never be able to forgive them for this.

 

**Ever.**

 

*

 

The door at the end of the hall had no handle.

 

Aqua rolled her eyes.

 

“What point is there to have a door with no handle?”

 

“Maybe it broke”, Cinder suggested.

 

“Yeah”.

 

Back-tracking, Mystic gasped.

 

“Look! 

 

_Look_ guys!!”

 

“Wha-?”

 

“Huh?”

 

The faded outline of a girl in an orange sweater _just_ disappeared-

 

“I don’t see anything”.

 

“Neither do I”.

 

“Sure you’re eyes aren’t playing tricks on you?”

 

“Yes!!”

 

She was getting _so_ infuriated-!!

 

“I saw her again!

 

I saw Alice.

 

She was right. There!!”

 

“Was she?”

 

Aqua raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yes! Yes she was!!”

 

“-Then let’s see what she wants from us, shall we?”

 

Cinder smiled drily.

 

“I’d rather not have anybody at each other’s throats this early in the morning”.

 

*

 

The night was frigid.

 

Devoid of any comforts whatsoever.

 

Snow gusting onto my cheeks, destroying the feeling in my fingers, and sneaking down every available hole in my clothes…

 

It was a wonder I didn’t become frozen alive.

 

 Occasionally, I would have to dust off Alice’s body.

 

Keep her from being buried.

 

 

I barely slept a _wink_.

 

 

When the sun rose tomorrow, I was going to check out that tunnel.

 

No more of this.

 

 

Alice and I were finally getting the justice that had been denied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was loooong. And I almost made myself cry at one point. Fun. But yeah, here you all go: the angst and tension that is remarkably poorly-timed considering what just happened.


	45. What Happened, Pt. 4: Explosive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An inconsistency is found with their Night of Death. Drama erupts between Mystic and those who wronged her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Blood, gore, and suicide/murder of a friend. Betrayal and anger because of abandonment, could also be read as gaslighting.
> 
> Also. I did get permission from the parties in this next bit. It's at the end, and you will know it when you see it. If I hadn't, it wouldn't be there.

Laughter.

 

From the hallway where the ghost had vanished.

 

“Everybody ready?” Cinder asked.

 

“As ready as I’ll ever be…” Aqua promised.

 

Mystic said nothing.

 

Together, they crept into a small room with a dollhouse on the rickety table, and a terrifyingly familiar picture on the wall.

 

“Is that…?”

 

“Yeah, that’s us alright”.

 

“But-“

 

Mystic touched the spot on the canvas where Alice’s eyes would be.

 

“They’ve been scratched out-“

 

“And Bronwyn’s been slashed in half”.

 

“And that’s Teala in the corner”.

 

“What!?”

 

Both Aqua and Mystic’s heads swung Cinder’s way.

 

“Up there”.

 

A red coat.

 

Piercing eyes.

 

Long, black hair.

 

Positioned just over Alice’s shoulder.

 

“Why would Teala be in this photo when she wasn’t there for the taking of it?”

 

“An interesting question”.

 

They moved to the Dollhouse.

 

“Think…I can…”

 

Started to pull at the stuck siding.

 

“Get this… _open-!_ ”

 

**SKRUNCH**

 

The grimy toy burst open on rusted hinges, accidentally clocking them in the face.

 

“Ow”.

 

“You okay?”

 

Aqua immediately went through her stuff for some first-aid.

 

“I’m good, I’m good-“

 

She reached in, and withdrew a goopy key.

 

“Ewww, what’s on that?”

 

“Sludge?” Mystic suggested.

 

“Cool”.

 

They wiped it off on the torn sleeve of their jacket.

 

“Wouldn’t be a rescue mission without something gross happening”.

 

“There’s a-“

 

“Is that-“

 

A doll.

 

In orange clothes.

 

With short, curly blonde hair.

 

Eyes closed.

 

“That looks like the ghost”, Cinder breathed.

 

Oddly enough, the house was empty aside from…her.

 

“I am not touching it”, Aqua declared.

 

“She looks cursed”, Mystic said softly.

 

“I’ve got this ladies, don’t worry”.

 

They carefully picked her up-

 

The eyes snapped open, neck cracking as it tilted its head.

 

In exactly the way Alice’s would have done.

 

Aqua and Mystic let out twin squawks of shock.

 

Cinder jumped.

 

With a painful **pop** , the roofing lifted.

 

“Ooh.

 

L-let’s see what we have here”.

 

A note.

 

A note spattered with orange glitter.

 

Rubbing it curiously with their finger, they were in awe as it drifted into the air with Disney-ish finesse.

 

“Cool…”

 

They read the letter.

 

“NOT cool-“

 

 

_This is your house now._

 

_But this isn’t your doll._

 

_You’ll be needing that key…_

 

_Revenge will be mine._

 

_And you will **all** suffer._

 

 

“Who wrote it!?” Aqua said in disgust.

 

“Beats me…no signature”.

 

Mystic shuddered.

 

“Someone wants revenge…”

 

“Can’t be any of us”, Cinder cracked.

 

“Right?”

 

*

 

Sunshine again.

 

Perfect.

 

I made my way down the hill on wobbling, beaten legs.

 

I could see that mine…

 

I had to get through it!

 

There was no telling where it would lead me, but odds were good that town might be at the end.

 

 

I had to try.

 

 

No one else was coming.

 

**No one.**

 

 

And if.

 

If it did exist…

 

No way in h* was I planning on holding back.

 

*

 

Mist seeped from the crack of yet another self-opening door.

 

Would they be spiraling deeper into this haunted place forever!?

 

One step in…

 

**AAAAHHHHHH!!!**

 

Blood streaming from the ghost’s mouth, its death’s head popped into view!!

 

“Holy Mother of-!?”

 

“Hiiiii-!!!”

 

“NO, no-“

 

It disappeared.

 

“What was that…what the h* was that!?”

 

“I don’t know”.

 

Cinder sucked in a shaky breath.

 

“Whatever it was, it’s gone now”.

 

“…Was that Alice?”

 

Tears were shimmering in Mystic’s eyes.

 

“No way! She wouldn’t have done that”.

 

“Assuming she’s not mad at us for last year…”

 

Aqua’s face was deathly-pale.

 

“Pretty sure she’s not the type”.

 

“So then what was that?”

 

“I don’t know”.

 

*

 

It was plugged up with large rocks.

 

Almost as if it had collapsed some years ago.

 

There were still some pockets around the edges that I might’ve been able to skirt through…

 

Steeling myself, I jammed a foot into the crack.

 

Pulled myself up so that I could begin to shimmy inside.

 

“Ah-!”

 

-A jab of pain in my shoulder, my knees.

 

Scrapes re-irritated, though I couldn’t tell if they were bleeding anymore.

 

“Ow-geez…!!”

 

One side of my glasses shattered.

 

I felt the palms of my hands slit, stinging with the cold.

 

The farther I went, the more light-headed I became.

 

Pretty sure something was infected.

 

 

-I hit a wall, and wanted to scream!!

 

*

 

Past the frosted stairway was _ruin_.

 

Water stains fingerprinting the walls, broken furniture and siding strewn every which way possible.

 

Saying that a massive tornado had cleaned out every single room would have been the biggest understatement in history.

 

“Where is this?” Aqua asked, baffled.

 

“We went down, we should be in the mines, theoretically speaking-“

 

“It could’ve sank into the ground”, Mystic offered…

 

“That’s true”, Cinder agreed.

 

“We’d better watch our step. Wouldn’t want to bring all of that lovely stonework onto our noggins”.

 

“We could die?” Aqua groaned.

 

“You’re surprised by that?”

 

“Nooo, just sick of it.

 

This was supposed to be fun”, she muttered.

 

 

SLAM-!!

 

 

A Cantonese curse escaped her lips!

 

 

“Why!?

 

Stop it!!”

 

Mystic shivered at the now-closed door.

 

“Where are we?”

 

“Welp”.

 

Cinder’s voice warbled in repressed-fright.

 

“I think…we’re in some kind of underground study”.

 

They gestured to the wooden desks and moldy sheets of paper.

 

“G*d*t…

 

Whoever stole Tegan must be laughing at the long-a* trail they set up!”

 

“Probably…”

 

She tried not to think about it.

 

*

 

How long had it taken me to get this far!?

 

An hour?

 

_Two!?_

 

**_Three!!?_ **

 

The idea that I would have to squander all that progress was not an appealing one.

 

My lungs were burning with bottled-up anger and fear.

 

No, back wasn’t really an option.

 

Not yet, anyway…

 

Nails chipping against the rough stone, I felt for another route, a hairline crack-

 

Was it just me, or did the stones shift slightly?

 

-I didn’t have time to wonder about it.

 

Someone needed to know we were here-

 

Someone needed to know that Alice was here.

 

I wedged myself into this new gap, and muscled my way forward.

 

*

 

Blood.

 

Spreading from underneath a shining metal door.

 

“Okay…okay everybody, here we go!”

 

Cinder gripped their candlestick harder, and heaved it open!

 

“Ohhhhh my God!!”

 

“Those are-!?”

 

Dead pigs.

 

Dead pigs hanging from the ceiling.

 

Everywhere.

 

One of them in particular was missing a head.

 

“This is so gross!!”

 

“Poor little piggies…”

 

Mystic’s heart cried out!

 

“Why? Why kill so many of them!?”

 

“Maybe they were food”.

 

“Food!?”

 

Aqua’s eyes snapped wide.

 

“What do you mean, food!!?”

 

“Look at this”.

 

An overturned table in the corner.

 

Gore and crimson stains spread from its shredded cloth to the farthest angles of the room.

 

Stainless steel plates and utensils had been bent and rendered utterly unusable.

 

“What the h*…?”

 

“Hey”.

 

Mystic picked up scraps of someone’s notes from under an especially pungent section.

 

“Listen:

 

 

_I don’t know how it happened, but we’re alive again._

 

_-At least, I am._

 

_Physically._

 

_The others look fine on the surface (if a bit ravaged), but there’s something wrong with their minds…_

 

_They burst into an innocent farmer’s pasture and kidnapped the porkers._

 

_I mean…_

 

_We’ve got to eat somehow, but the pigs were all killed with quick neck-snaps as per Lauren’s request and then messily devoured raw._

 

_Their frenzy was so great that I was surprised they didn’t shake these walls apart!_

 

 

_The next week, this place was full of dead humans._

 

 

“This is some horror movie s*”.

 

Aqua wrapped her arms around herself, pensive.

 

“Doesn’t have a signature”, Mystic observed.

 

“No, but it does have a date”.

 

Cinder’s expression was full of alarm.

 

“This was written a month after Alice’s death”.

 

*

 

My body was aching…

 

My legs practically dead from high-stepping up for hours on end…

 

It seemed like that, anyhow.

 

I was surprised my fingers weren’t bones from all the clawing.

 

Every moment, I was terrified that I might lose my tenuous grip.

 

With every slip of my shoes, I was sure that I was going to fall and break my neck.

 

 

But I didn’t.

 

 

No instead, I kept at the grueling pace until my hand tentatively felt a weak spot.

 

Pushing up on it, a combination of relief and gratitude washed over me.

 

I’d made it…

 

 

That sweet, sweet scent of wind gusted over my fingertips.

 

 

I’d _made_ it…!

 

 

With hope in sight, I dug deep inside myself for the strength to finish this out.

 

I powered past the thin membrane of pebbles, and flopped onto the earth.

 

Victorious at last!!

 

 

“-Um…miss?”

 

I looked up through a vision wet with tears.

 

“Do you need help?”

 

*

 

“Well, yeah…”

 

Mystic’s mind spun.

 

“They came because of that extra life magic, right?”

 

“Right”, Cinder said.

 

“But something’s wrong. Whoever wrote this was definitely one of the Hunters. However, they don’t sound like they mean us any harm”.

 

“You think there’s one more besides Lauren, Alex, and Roi?”

 

“I do.

 

And I think we were lied to”.

 

“Lied to…”

 

“Yeah”.

 

Cinder underlined the phrase with their finger.

 

 

_I don’t know how it happened, but we’re alive again-_

 

 

“Sounds like that life magic business was just a cover-

 

Clearly, they didn’t come of their own volition as we were told”.

 

“So then what are they here for?”

 

Mystic swallowed.

 

“It has to be-“

 

 

Clanking.

 

_Metallic_ clanking.

 

 

“Oh crap-“

 

Aqua aimed her pickaxe.

 

“It’s Alex…”

 

Mystic raised her bat.

 

Cinder thrust out the candlestick-

 

Then-

 

“Wait a minute”.

 

 

“Aaagh, let go!!”

 

Both of them swung around to see Aqua being yanked into a chokehold!

 

“Aqua _no_!”

 

“Take-this-creep-!!”

 

With each hack of the blade, a little bit more of his blood was spilled.

 

-Well, black tainted bile actually.

 

Being killed in the Dark Realm will do that to you.

 

Face twisting with pain, he staggered in the direction he’d snuck out of.

 

Cinder waled on him, and he lashed out, brutally knocking them to the ground.

 

“Cinder? Cinder!!”

 

Mystic called and called, but they wouldn’t answer!

 

 

They were **out**.

 

 

“CINDER!!”

 

*

 

“-And they didn’t find you?”

 

“No…” I whispered.

 

That moment was only too fresh in my mind.

 

Vivid and **raw**.

 

“But you did”.

 

“Yes”.

 

The police officer sighed and scratched his head.

 

“I don’t know how that’s possible…that purple coat stood out plain as day”.

 

I nodded.

 

“Yeah…”

 

I’d been in the hospital for a while now.

 

The news people had tried interviewing me about the incident, but I'd hid under my covers and waited for them to go away.

 

Alice’s body had been found at last.

 

Her family would be arriving soon to see it.

 

And me.

 

 

My ‘friends’ had also been paged.

 

 

In short.

 

I was dreading this afternoon.

 

*

 

Mystic attacked him with the bat-

 

Full-force, and p*d-off!

 

_Alex Wassabi the lovable Novelist be d*ned!!_

 

“Ack-don’t hit me, please!

 

**I’m on your side!!** ”

 

-She stumbled.

 

Blunt instrument of whacking stuttering in the air.

 

“Wha-!?”

 

The former Guest, sensing that her guard had been dropped, kicked out.

 

Punching _agony_ -

 

Mystic went flying across the room, and smacked into a wall.

 

 

Already lost to a memory.

 

*

 

Just my luck the traitors arrived first.

 

“Hey”, Leah said kindly.

 

“You’re awake! And okay!!”

 

“Ooh, I could hug you-“

 

Adopppp’s overjoyed energy was infectious.

 

But I resisted.

 

“No thanks”.

 

“Huh?”

 

Tegan’s tone was confused.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Maybe she doesn’t want to get hugged”, I heard Birdy whisper.

 

“Yeah, probably”, Cinder whispered back.

 

“Well, I’m just glad you’re safe”.

 

Bronwyn flashed me a warm smile.

 

“Same here”, Chala added.

 

“Seriously, we were really scared”.

 

Aqua helped the ringleaders of this whole mess arrange some flowers.

 

Flowers for _me_.

 

Bright gold.

 

“We got you some blooms, and a cool card!”

 

Adopppp held it out for me to take.

 

“Here”.

 

“…”

 

It was cute and peppy, with drawn-on hearts and ‘Much love from the ETN fandom! Please get well soon!’ written in multi-color.

 

The signatures made me want to vomit.

 

“…You’ve got a lot of nerve”.

 

“Eh?”

 

Birdy looked nervous.

 

“Why…?”

 

“We just wanted to say hello”, Adopppp said innocently.

 

“And be there for you”.

 

“Chala-“

 

“What’s wrong with that?”

 

Tegan was looking at me with such concern…

 

 

“I know you all are lying to me”.

 

 

“Lying?”

 

Leah blinked.

 

“I don’t think anyone’s lied-“

 

“We were right. There. In plain sight!

 

And you left us”.

 

“What are you talking about?” Bronwyn asked.

 

Her eyebrows were furrowed in puzzlement.

 

“I saw you! A couple days ago! You all were at the cliff where Alice died, you would’ve fallen in yourselves if you’d gotten any closer!

 

There’s no way you would’ve missed that violently-purple coat”.

 

“We were there, and we didn’t see anything”, Aqua countered.

 

“Actually-“ Cinder started.

 

“Yeah”, Tegan said.

 

“I must’ve spent forever straining to see something we’d missed.

 

And there wasn’t”.

 

“See? You’re lying again! We were there!! I was screaming at the top of my lungs!! Don’t you _dare_ tell me that you didn’t hear it!!!”

 

“Hey, hey”, Leah cut in.

 

“Let’s all calm down here-“

 

“Calm down?”

 

I was livid with rage.

 

“CALM DOWN!?”

 

I couldn’t believe this!

 

"How on earth were you unable to find us for **three** whole days!?"

 

Especially after what I **knew** I’d seen.

 

 " Now Alice is **dead** , and it’s all your fault-"

 

“It's _not_ all our fault!” Tegan yelled.

 

Adopppp’s mouth dropped open.

 

“Ohhh, she mad-“

 

“How were _we_ supposed to know that you were going to just streak off into the wilderness without looking back?

 

You really think we were trying to set you up!?

 

We just wanted to relax and have a good time!

 

But noooo, you just had to blow it _all_ out of proportion-“

 

Birdy put a hand onto her shoulder.

 

“Heyy,

 

Let’s not fi-“

 

“She _always_ does this!”

 

“Whoa, that was months-“

 

Once again, Cinder couldn’t speak.

 

“She’s always hurting everyone else and thinking all of _her_ drama is because of us!!”

 

“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this...” Birdy squeaked.

 

“Mystic, we didn’t mean for that night to go like it did.

 

It was an _accident_!”

 

Bronwyn’s eyes were _pleading_ with me-

 

“We got rushed at-“

 

Chala nodded.

 

“When we discovered that you two hadn’t returned, we spent soooo long searching-

 

We went up and down the mountain until Adopppp almost fainted”.

 

“-Didn’t drink enough H2O, apparently-“

 

“I a-accidentally cut myself on a pipeline during that hike, and have the scar to prove it!”

 

Birdy flipped her arm over, and pointed at the jagged mark.

 

“See?”

…

 

“You all don’t believe me”.

 

“I would’ve thrown myself down there and saved y’all in a heartbeat!”

 

“We would’ve gone for help, we _would_ have I swear-!!”

 

“But you _didn’t_ ”.

 

“Oh my God!” Tegan shouted in frustration.

 

“No, we do believe you-“ Leah tried to salvage.

 

“Should we kick her out?

This is just-

 

I just can’t-“

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!!” Adopppp broke in.

 

“What?”

 

“Nooo, I caused this…”

 

Tears began to flow down Birdy’s cheeks.

 

“I am never writing Roila ever again!”

 

“No, don’t say that!”

 

Bronwyn’s face was stricken with guilt.

 

“I fell too, you know”.

 

“It was no one’s fault!” Chala exclaimed.

 

“No matter what we do, she always freaks out!!

 

No matter what!

 

It’s like a vicious…cycle!

 

That never ends!!

 

And I’m **sick** of it-“

 

“It feels like we’re going in circles now”, Aqua marveled hysterically-

 

 

“Hey”.

 

 

“That’s what I just _said_ -“ Tegan half-shouted.

 

“Mystic, I truly am sorry about Alice, but this is nuts!!”

 

“If you were really sorry, you wouldn’t have left _her_ behind too!”

 

“But we _didn’t_!!” Birdy cried.

 

“We _did_ look!!” Bronwyn insisted.

 

“We just didn’t. Find anything-“

 

 

**“HEY!!”**

 

 

Chala’s mouth closed.

 

Everyone turned to Cinder.

 

 

Silence.

 

 

"Wow".

 

Cinder stared in amazement.

 

"Um. Okay...

 

Why don’t we go settle it with the police?

 

They’re the ones who found them, after all…”

 

 

Leah slowly nodded.

 

 

“That-

 

_That_ is a good idea”.

 

*

 

Rope.

 

Chafing at her wrists.

 

Head spinning, whirling with pain, Mystic slowly looked up.

 

Her arms had been tied around a pole.

 

“Ci-Cinder…?

 

Aqua!?”

 

A glass observation panel.

 

Five feet to her left.

 

“No.

 

Not this!

 

Not again…

 

_Not again!!”_

 

 

Aqua was struggling against her own ropes, stress tears rolling down her cheeks.

 

Her hands were bound to the sides of the wooden chair, ankles secured in the same manner.

 

Across from her?

 

Cinder.

 

Hands tied behind them.

 

“Ohh…”

 

They lifted their head, eyes unfocused.

 

“Where are we?”

 

“It’s _him_ -

 

He’s gonna make me _kill_ -“

 

“What?”

 

“Twice in a row!!”

 

_“What!?”_

 

“I don’t want to, I don’t want to-“

 

“Aqua, hey.

 

We’re gonna be fine…”

 

They tugged at their bonds.

 

“I’ll Houdini this s*, and you then I'll help _you_ Houdini this s*, and we’ll both get out of here alive”.

 

Saw blades dropped down from the ceiling, and whirred themselves into a fire storm of red and orange sparks.

 

“It’s just like last time!!”

 

“You mean-“

 

The dots connected.

 

“Oh God!”

 

Lowering upon the two unwilling test subjects with practiced ease.

 

Mystic could’ve _sworn_ that she smelled the blood, even despite being locked away-

 

“Guys!” she scream-shouted at the top of her lungs.

 

“Guys, _guys!!_

 

Can you hear me!?”

 

**Good evening, AquaEclipse.**

 

**Good evening, Cinderscoria.**

 

**I couldn’t have predicted a better turnout for Phase 2.**

 

“Shut up!” Aqua screamed.

 

**Cinder.**

 

**The girl you are about to die with has already killed once.**

 

**One choice will keep the both of you from being sliced to pieces by my saw blades.**

 

“Get it over with already!” Cinder snapped, “We’re in a hurry!!”

 

_Click!_

 

“Oh-“

 

Their hands were suddenly and inexplicably…

 

Let go.

 

**With the revolver I have provided.**

 

**Either kill the sinner, or kill yourself.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me five or six hours to write oh-my-goodness...!!


	46. Me Or You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cinder makes their choice.

I felt sorry for the poor police man.

 

I don’t think he expected to be mobbed by nine people the minute he exited the bathroom.

 

“Uh…hello there.

 

How was the visit?”

 

“Could’ve been better”, Mystic quipped.

 

“It was very not what I thought was gonna happen”, Adopppp said frankly.

 

“Oh. Well…”

 

Officer Nolan (handy name tag you got there), eyeballed the lot of us oddly.

 

“Do you youngsters need anything?”

 

“Yes”.

 

He looked at me, with that same bewildered smile on his face.

 

“Can we see footage of Alice’s recovery?”

 

*

 

The imminent grinding of the saw blades roared in their ears.

 

The steel of the gun shone like a dangerous beacon.

 

“Cinder…please don’t do it.

 

I had no choice!

 

I didn’t even pull the stupid f*ing lever, it moved on its own-“

 

Aqua was in-between crying and panicking, and-

 

They didn’t like it.

 

“Hey…hey! I’m not gonna shoot you”.

 

“Wh…you aren’t?”

 

“Nope”.

 

They picked up the life-ending device-

 

And placed it to their temple.

 

“Cinder!?”

 

I joke about death all the time. I guess this is only fitting, huh?

 

They smiled.

 

“It’s okay…it’s gonna be fine”.

 

_“Cinder!!”_

 

She wrenched uselessly at the harsh knots.

 

“Don’t do it-“

 

“It’s gonna be okay”.

 

They pulled back the safety, and smashed the trigger.

 

 

**BANG**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I did get permission first before writing this.


	47. Bait-And-Switch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of Hour 6.

“CINDER!!”

 

Aqua’s horrified screech mingled with Mystic’s as their fire-forged friend thumped headfirst onto the table.

 

Lifeless.

 

“Nononono-!”

 

Her heart sank into her shoes.

 

_First Bronwyn, now Cinder. What am I, some kind of death magnet!?_

 

She could still hear the former’s screams echoing in her ears as the saw blades ate into her torso.

 

She could still hear those tranquil final words weighing hard on her conscience.

 

 

It’s gonna be okay.

 

 

“You liar…it’s not gonna be okay at all-!”

 

Chest heaving with painful sobs, she let her chin sink toward her ribs.

 

 

The guilt-stricken writer didn’t hear the pent-up breath.

 

*

 

“You want to see that?”

 

Officer Nolan was perplexed.

 

Not that I could really blame him, but-

 

“Yeah. We want to solve a disagreement”.

 

“Disagreement?”

 

Mystic glared daggers at me from the back of the group.

 

As if she were warning me off from making her sound like a lunatic.

 

“We kinda missed Alice’s body the first go-around, and we…”

 

I swallowed nervously.

 

“We wanted to see why you found it when we couldn’t.

 

If that’s okay”.

 

Ooh, judging stare.

 

“You kids do realize that the clips are on the internet and you can find them easily?”

 

Chala internally face-palmed.

 

I grinned sheepishly.

 

“Well, uh…I thought that was official police evidence”.

 

“The news people around here can be real sharks”.

 

He frowned slightly.

 

“Suppose it was luck you just happened to pass out in front of their leading reporter”.

 

“So the news sites would have it?”

 

“The news sites within the next five-mile radius would have it”.

 

“Great, thank you!”

 

“No problem”.

 

*

 

“Ohhhh…”

 

Aqua nearly jumped out of her skin!!

 

“-!?”

 

The body across from her…it was…

 

**Moving.**

 

Should she let herself hang on-!?

 

“That was _not_ fun”.

 

Happy tears dripped down her cheeks.

 

“You…you…”

 

Cinder sloooowly sat up, grimacing.

 

“See? I told you it would be okay”.

 

“But…”

 

Mystic’s faint voice was full of shocked disbelief.

 

“But how-!?”

 

“Blanks”.

 

They started to laugh.

 

Louder and louder-

 

“It was a blank…”

 

They buried their face in their hands.

 

Still laughing.

 

“Wh-huh!?”

 

Aqua was smiling now, brain having floated off to a more comprehensible place where people didn’t just get randomly shoved into death traps, and forced to choose who lived and who died.

 

This was…

 

This was **insane**.

 

“You’re alive…you’re alive!”

 

If she weren’t currently tied to a fr*ing chair, she would’ve probably been leaping halfway over the moon to get to them!

 

To actually touch/hug them and make sure that Mystic and herself weren’t hallucinating.

 

To make sure that _she_ wasn’t.

 

Did that mean she was half out of her mind?

 

Oh def.

 

Did she care?

 

Not in the least.

 

*

 

We searched it up on Leah’s laptop, and crowded around as the video began to play.

 

Police sirens, ambulance noise-

 

The staccato racket of camera flashes from the forensics people.

 

…

 

There was that purple coat.

 

There was Alice, sprawled at the bottom of the pit like a tragically broken doll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Hour 7 begins.

**Author's Note:**

> So?
> 
> What'd you all think? 
> 
> You ready for Hour 1? :)


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